Gifts

Sometimes we use the word "gifts" interchangeably with the idea of "talents." He or she's a gifted actor or actress, a beautiful singer, a dynamic leader, a great athlete. And using those talents is important. God doesn't give us those abilities so that we will hide them away. He has blessed us with those talents so that we can find joy in the doing of them. And so we can honor Him through their use--use them in such a way that we make His presence obvious to all around us. Use them with excellence! God doesn't have much sympathy for those who bury their talents instead of investing them in His kingdom--no matter what excuse they make up for not using them.
But there is another gift that we often overlook. God tells us that our labor, that which He has called us to do, is a gift from Him. My "job" is His gift to me to enjoy. For me, that means that teaching English 12 at Worthington Christian High School is a gift God has given me so that my life might be full and complete in Him. It is not an accidental calling, a "something to do" while I'm waiting to go Home, but a "something" to enjoy and to invest my energies in because I will one day be going Home. He expects me to glorify Him in that labor. He expects me to personally find His presence in those walls and to make His presence known to the students who enter my classroom. And the same is true for you whatever "labor" God has called you to, whatever labor He has given to you as a token of His love. And what a difference it would make if we would just wake up every morning and remind ourselves of that truth wherever our calling takes us or if we are called to "labor" all day in our home. Tomorrow when I wake up, it will not be just to go to school and teach but to immerse myself in the gift that God has given me as a co-laborer with Him--a labor of joy, of love; a labor that has no tolerance for mediocrity.
Will you join me tomorrow morning as we begin another day basking in the gift of the labor bestowed on us by God's love and wisdom?