Not All Potatoes

Not all Christians are potatoes. Let me explain. Let’s say you have a vegetable garden filled with carrots, potatoes, beans… and then you combine all those colorful and delicious veggies into a great vegetable soup.

But what if the scenario changed? What if all you had in your garden were potatoes? In this new scenario, you couldn’t make that flavorful, colorful, nutritious meal.

We can think of the church (all Christians everywhere) like this: as a vibrant, diverse vegetable soup. But as Christians, sometimes we forget we’re not all meant to be potatoes. Just as God gives each vegetable a different taste, He gives each of His children different spiritual gifts to build up the church. Another way to think about this is to remember that God calls us the body of Christ and says we are each a different part, but we all belong to the same body. In the family of God, we are all different, but we are united through faith in Jesus.

So, instead of comparing ourselves to others and wondering if we should be more like them—or if they should be more like us—we have the opportunity to use the gifts God has given us to share His love with others and build up His church.

Today, we can ask God to show us the spiritual gifts He has given us, and we can ask Him to guide us in how we can use these gifts in our church and our community. We can enjoy our beautiful differences, and together we can more fully reflect the goodness of God and put His glory on display. Because no matter what gifts we have, we are each an important part of God’s family, and we get to bring flavor and nourishment to the world—together. • A. W. Smith

• What are some of your talents? Are you good at art, music, math, mechanics, athletics, teaching, caring for people who are sick or in crisis…?

• If you know Jesus, you’ve been given spiritual gifts by the Holy Spirit. Do you have an idea what some of your spiritual gifts might be? (Today’s Bible passages include a couple of the Bible’s lists on this topic.) Consider taking some time to pray about this, asking God for wisdom about how you might use your gifts to share His love with the people you come in contact with.

• Who are trusted Christians in your life you could talk with about your talents and spiritual gifts and how you might use them?

We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. Romans 12:6a (NIV) 

READ: ROMANS 12:4-10; 1 CORINTHIANS 12:1-27; 1 PETER 4:8-11