Unique Giftedness

UV 429/10,000 I Corinthians 7 v 7 Unique giftedness. I wish that all men were as I am. But each man has his own gift from God, one has this gift and another has that. The gifts given from above and that are endowed within us are far more precious than even the costliest gift we can give to each other. Writing in the context of celibacy, Paul underlines that the gifts from God are unique and personal. The gifts can be related to our talents, our temperament as well as our mental, emotional and spiritual equipment. Some are “lifestyle gifts” that enable us to live in a particular sacrificial way, giving up things that are considered a necessity for others. This uni-verse is an explicit acknowledgement of the uniqueness of the calling and the giftedness of every believer as a member in the body of Christ. Once the Lord rebuked me saying, “ I have given you many gifts and talents but you are not using it.” I began to wonder about what the Lord wanted me to do. That word of rebuke stimulated me to attempt writing the world’s longest praise song, “ The Great I Am.” Though I was and am a musically challenged person, I knew the Lord had given me the flair to write. I began to attempt the greatest elaboration in history of who God is in terms of how He defined Himself to Moses, “ I AM WHO I AM.” After writing my description of the Great I Am, the Lord sent people with the right set of gifts to turn the long poem into the longest praise and worship song. Thereafter, the Lord said he was pleased with me that I am using my talents for His glory. Once, I told myself that even in writing I am good at writing cryptically and briefly condensing larger content to pithy lines but that I was not able to elaborate. But, the Lord said, “ I will help you elaborate.” He instructed me to write meditations on one verse at a time: the uni-verse. Today, more than a year later, I am poised to publish the first two volumes of Uni-verse: The Word-Empowered Life of Love. He does not only give us gifts but He helps us grow and use it. We must desire the pure spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit: the gift of discernment is useful to us to make right and godly choices in key issues in life. It is not wrong to desire such gifts. Our strong desire would create a space in our hearts and lives for the Lord to fill it generously with His gift. The Lord is by nature a Giver, a generous One at that. He says, “ Open your mouth and I will fill it.” We need to express our desires to the Lord for godly gifts and He will surely grant it as He alone can. Prateep V Philip