An Inkling
Have you ever seen a spiritual gifts tests? The New Testament offers lists of spiritual
gifts – about 25 gifts in all. These are
the abilities the Lord gives to enable us to do a ministry he calls us to
do. The tests are supposed to identify
our gifts so that we can focus on the ministries for which we are best gifted. Sounds sensible, and I know such tests can
give some direction. But I would offer
two caveats as they are used.
First, spiritual gifts are often not so much the known abilities
of the person ministering as they are abilities provided in the midst of a ministry
situation. For example, I’ve known
people who don’t ordinarily join in praying for the sick, who have seen the
Lord heal someone through their prayers, and experienced his guidance as they
prayed. Those are gifts of healing and
knowledge, which may not have even shown up on a gift survey, but which the
Lord provided as needed in a ministry setting.
The Lord who provides ordinary patterns of gifting is certainly not restricted to them!
A second caveat to the gifts tests is this: the New
Testament gift lists were never intended to be exhaustive. For example, I’ve seen a spiritual gifting
for leading worship, which you’ll find on no New Testament list. This gift goes beyond musical ability or
theological acumen. It’s a supernatural
gift for leading people into the presence of God. The Lord provides this gifting here in our
worship at points, and it is a great treasure.
I got to thinking about all of this because I’ve recently
observed another spiritual gift that’s not on the lists: the gift of quip. Tim Keller, Pastor of Redeemer Church in New
York City, has an extraordinary gifting for this. Every day, sometimes twice a day, he offers
up quips with amazing biblical insight.
And he does so via Twitter, which limits him to 140 characters. Here are some samples of his recent “tweets”:
- Religion says earn your life. Secular society says create your life. Jesus says, “My life for your life.”
- The way we view the not yet will inevitably impact the way we respond in the here and now.
- To insist doctrine doesn’t matter is really a doctrine itself.
- Self-deception is not the worst thing that we do, but it is the reason we do the worst things.
And he offers these every day, with 201,000 followers
and counting. I think the Spirit is at
work! May he continue to gift us for
ministry in the very ways he knows matter most.
Blessings,
Keith
