We must pay attention to how we serve
“Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. 15 Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress.” 1 Timothy 4:14-15
This final article highlights the fact that God doesn’t save His church as a bunch of individuals. It does matter what we believe, and it does matter who we are as individuals, but Paul reminds Timothy of an important truth: that every individual Christian is called to be a member of the body of Christ. And as a member of the body, we have been given gifts by the Holy Spirit of God. And these gifts have been given to us so that we can do our part in building up the body to which we belong. Paul is saying–don’t get distracted in your service! Don’t lose sight of your vital role in the body of Christ!
Injury & Atrophy
When I was in high school, I got injured playing football. I collided knees with another player and experienced a contusion right above my right knee cap. It took me weeks to recover, but I was so desperate to get back. I worked hard doing some physical therapy and felt like I was ready to go. But what happened was that, since my muscle never fully recovered, I overcompensated with my left leg when I would run. It only took a few weeks before I tore my left quad. I learned a hard lesson about how the body works, and how it doesn’t.
Can I make an appeal to you today? If you aren’t using your gifts to build up the body in a local church, then two things are going to happen. First, you are going to experience muscle atrophy in your walk with Christ. You are going to waste away spiritually because you aren’t exercising the spiritual muscle that the Holy Spirit has given you to use. But if that isn’t enough to get you to pay attention to how you serve, then consider this: If you aren’t using your gift to build up the body of Christ, then someone else is going to overcompensate to try and make up for your absence, and it is only a matter of time before the body collapses into dysfunction.
Connecting The Dots
I’ve never been good at math, but I want to give you three simple equations to help you understand how all of these articles in this series fits together. We have discussed the importance of paying attention to our doctrine, our life, and our service. Consider the importance of all of these together:
Doctrine + Gifting – Life = Disqualified for ministry
Gifting + Life – Doctrine = Powerless and purposeless
Doctrine + Life – Gifting = Wasted potential
We must pay attention to our doctrine, our life, and our gifts. And if we neglect any one of them, then we not only neglect our own spiritual health but we neglect the spiritual health of the whole church. It is unloving for us to pick and choose which aspect of discipleship we would rather focus on.
But there is one last equation:
Doctrine + Life + Gifting = God glorifying effectiveness
When we engage in holistic discipleship and pay attention to what we believe and who we are and how we serve, God gets the glory! That is the life of power, that is, what it means to walk in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit loves His truth, and He loves His fruit, and He loves His gifts, so when we embrace walking with Him in all His fullness, He moves in power. By the grace of God, let’s pay attention!
