Playing to your strengths?

My friend and I were talking about how to serve our church and community. There are so many things we could do! Perhaps it's enough to work out the gifts and talents that God has given us and concentrate on using these for the common good (1 Cor 12:7). But what about needs and opportunities that don't play to our strengths? What about esteeming weakness, so that God's strength might be revealed?

When Paul rejoices in his weakness, it is because in weakness, God's power becomes sufficient, even perfect (2 Cor 12:7-10). In the midst of his weakness, God's power rests on Paul and so he revels in God's strength. So too, our gifts are given to us in our weakness - "What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?" (1 Cor 4:7). These strengths not of our own making are God's power resting on us.

We are to use our gifts to serve wholeheartedly. And we are to remember that we are part of a body, with all the parts arranged just as God wanted them to be (1 Cor 12:18). So if a need or an opportunity comes along that we would do a poor job of, it might very well be that another part of the body can step in and step up. But we are not to be dogmatic about it; we are to imitate our Lord's spirit of generosity and sacrifice. We must trust that, as he daily gives us the familiar power of our gifts, he will also give us unusual power to do this fearsome thing.


H/T Shiloh