Friday, May 6 – 1 Peter 4:7-11

The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaint. As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the multifaceted grace of God. Whoever speaks is to do so as one who is speaking actual words of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

“Telephone” is a classic game where a message is passed down from person to person until the last person reveals the message they think they heard. What is funny about the game is at the end of the line the message has often become so distorted it does not sound like the original message at all. Sometimes, we think we have received spiritual gifts in these same terms. We think about the people in the Bible being stronger or more spiritually gifted than we are in 2022. We hear the stories of what people did by faith in the Scriptures and think, “There’s no way I could have a testimony like that!”

God does work in our lives in different ways, but His work in and through our lives is just as powerful as ever. God is still after the same purpose: to bring people to Himself. He is still using His followers through the power of the Holy Spirit. And the goal for our gifts is still to glorify God through Jesus Christ in all things.

Peter said each of us has received a special gift and are called to serve one another as stewards of God’s grace. As followers of Christ, we are co-heirs of this legacy of grace. We have been given the same gifts, the same purpose, and the same goal because we have received our gifts from the same God.

• How are you encouraged when you consider that spiritual gifts are directly from God?
• Look at the gifts that are listed in this passage, which ones stand out to you? How could you use your gift through God’s power today?
• Pray and thank God for being so personal and direct in gifting and equipping you.