May 26 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

The exalted Lord Jesus has given many gifts to his church. In a few Bible passages we find lists of these gifts: prophecy, speaking in tongues, healing, serving, teaching, and so on. These lists are not identical, and they are not exhaustive. They are not intended to be a complete inventory of the spiritual possessions of the early Christians.

The gifts differ considerably. To our mind they also differ in nature: "speaking in tongues" makes us think of a sudden overpowering by the Spirit, but when the gift of administration is mentioned, we tend to think of a natural ability. And when Paul includes even church officers in the list (Eph. 4), we are more apt to think of human appointment than of heavenly equipment. But the Scriptures want us to know that all these gifts are endowments of Christ. They come from heaven because they come from the Lord. They are heavenly graces or charismata that the Lord, or the Spirit, freely gives.

All these gifts, as varied as the functions of a human body, have but one purpose—building the body of Christ. They have no value in themselves. They become valuable when they are used. And the most valuable gifts are the ones that are most suitable for building the church of God.

We may not be proud of our gift or jealous of the grace given to another (v. 3). Certainly we may never make our special gift a standard for being a Christian. Nobody may say: "Since I speak in tongues and you don't, you are not a Christian." Or, "Since I am a teacher and you are not, you do not belong to the body." These special gifts of the Holy Spirit are given by the Lord according to the need of the hour, according to the prayers of Christians, and according to his sovereign pleasure. A measure of discussion is required so that we may know how to ask. Yet Christ's gifts must not be discussed too much. They must be used.

REFLECTIONS

What special gifts has Christ given you? How are you using his gifts to build up the body of Christ?

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.