Eddie* was a talented young man I met shortly after high school when I became employed by the same industry he worked for. He soon became my idol and good friend.
Eddie seemed to know how to do everything. If it was something unfamiliar, he mastered it quickly. He farmed on the side and periodically invited me over to help him. Whether repairing a fence, disc harrowing a field, mending a barn, repairing his car or building his house, he conquered it all with ease.
But Eddie wasn’t stingy with his talents. If a neighboring widow needed a field plowed, he left his for hers. Or his building project to help someone else with theirs. Eddie’s selflessness was well-known around the community and in his church because he continually shared his gifts.
David urged his son to use the gifts God gave him in building the Temple he himself longed to erect. So take this seriously. The LORD has chosen you to build a Temple as his sanctuary. Be strong, and do the work (I Chronicles 28:10 NLT).
God endows everyone with natural talents but also delivers spiritual gifts to his children. Both are designed to enhance our personal pleasure and to serve others in Christ’s name. God may never paste your name in lights as a reward for generous acts, but recognition isn’t important. He only desires faithfulness. Gifts not honed may well be taken from us and given to those who will use them. Eddie’s greatest joy came in helping someone else accomplish a task, not complete one himself. So does mine. Yours can too.
Prayer: Merciful God and Father of all, as You have commanded us to love all people, may we use our gifts to serve them in love.
*Name changed to protect the privacy of the individual.
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