1 Corinthians 12:4;7 “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them…. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.”
My husband and I went out for dinner the other night. The restaurant was hopping, but the hostess soon seated us at a table for two near another table for two. A couple sat down next to us, and Chip immediately struck up a conversation. Before long, my husband knew where the couple lived, how many children they had, when they retired, and what they believed about God. Come to find out, they were fellow followers of Christ.
After we finished our meal, Chip got up from the table and said he would be right back. He slipped out to the car and grabbed a copy of my book, Between the Lamp Posts, to give our new acquaintances. They seemed pleasantly surprised and asked me to sign it. They even wrote down the address to my website. But the interesting evening didn’t end there. When we looked for our check, the couple told us they had taken care of it. Evidently when Chip left to retrieve my book, they retrieved our bill. They said picking up the tab for others was one of the ways they served the Lord.
I couldn’t help but think of God’s great diversity in how he chooses to work through people. This couple spreads joy by randomly paying for someone’s dinner. My husband reflects God’s pleasure when he initiates conversations with strangers, (even more so when he can gift them with one of my books)! And when God uses my writing to encourage someone, I can’t stop smiling.
I think the Lord was also smiling that evening when four of his kids used the gifts he’d given them to serve the “common good.”
Scripture assures us the Holy Spirit gives different gifts to each of us, gifts to be used to make the world a better place. It apparently makes no difference whether the gifts are big and flashy or small and quiet. He calls us to use what we have.
So let’s not be timid in using his gifts and in following the promptings of the Holy Spirit. We have an opportunity to reflect the goodness of God. To shed some common good on our poor world.
I say, “Bring it on!”