SPIRITUAL GIFTS: Daily Reading Plan #7
1 Peter 4:10-11
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
Peter continues describing how Christians should live in response to the knowledge that the end of all things is near (1 Peter 4:7). Knowing that Christ could return at any time should affect our thinking. Christians should not excessively invest ourselves in a world that is passing away. Believers should not divert ourselves with whatever pleasures we can find to indulge in. Instead, we should manage our minds for effective praying and love each other deeply, including sharing our homes and food with Christians in need.
Now in this verse, Peter says we should take a very different view from others in the world about anything we might call "ours." First, he implies that we must see whatever we have as a gift from God. After all, we have nothing which God has not given to us (James 1:17). Second, we should see whatever we have been given as an opportunity to serve other Christians. In other words, we should not view anything which is "ours" as off-limits for use in serving other believers.
A steward is one entrusted to manage the property of another. Every good thing we have is ours only by God's grace and intended to be used for His purpose. To fail to use God's gifts to us to serve each other is to fail to be a good steward. Wisely using everything we have to serve each other is part of fulfilling our purpose as God's set-apart people.
Reflection Questions
- What does this passage reveal about spiritual gifts?
- What do these verses cause me to do as a result?
