Romans 12:1-8 (NRSV)
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Chapter 12I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Verse 2Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God-what is good and acceptable and perfect. Verse 3For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. Verse 4For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, Verse 5so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. Verse 6We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; Verse 7ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; Verse 8the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.
Devotion
There is a cartoon in which a man and a woman are sitting at a restaurant table after church. The woman says, "I was just fine until you got up and testified that golf was your spiritual gift."
Unfortunately, golf did not make Paul's list of gifts here in Romans. Paul runs through his list of gifts in this text, but before he does that he says two things: (1) We are members of the body of Christ; and (2) we are also members of one another. This faith we are living is not only a "God-and-me" matter. This faith that we live out daily also includes how we function in unity with others. Do we value the gifts of the other? Do we encourage and foster those gifts? Is there someone in your world today that needs to hear you name and lift up their gifts?
Prayer
God of gifts and grace, we are grateful that you have made each of us special and unique. Guide us to use our gifts for your good will. And help us to recognize and uplift your gifts as we see them in others. Amen.