A Romans 12 Christian Part 2

Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans, that we should all look at ourselves and consider how God made us.  In Chapter 12, verse 3, he says:

³ For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.

How do you look at yourself?  I think that we really need to do a self-evaluation. We need to look deeply into ourselves to see how God created us. Too often, as I deal with people, I find that as we talk, they will either think they are better than I am, or that I am better than they are. What we, as believers, need to realize, is that God made us the way He did so we would fit into the body of believers that He has placed us in. If we spend our time thinking that another believer is smarter than we are, or that we are smarter than them, we are not thinking soberly about how God created us.  He created us with the right tools to do the job He needs us to do for Him.

Verses 4 and 5, continue:

 ⁴ For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, ⁵ so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 

That is pretty straight forward.  I have a head, a torso, an abdomen, legs, 

arms, etc. Each one is different and has a different function. If I were just a head and did not have the other parts, I might be able to think and speak, but I would not be an effective tool for Him. He has given each of us a function in His body, and we need to accept it. He has given others functions in that same body and by doing so He has made us, together, an effective tool to accomplish His program through us.

Verses 6 through 8:

⁶ We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; ⁷ if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; ⁸ if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

Yes, I may be better at the gift that He gave me than you or others in the body, but God gave you a gift that I don’t have and may never have, because He knew that you would do a better job of it than I ever could. I really like the way that Paul puts it in 6 through 8.  Again,

⁶ We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. 

If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 

 if it is serving, then serve;

if it is teaching, then teach;

if it is to encourage, then give encouragement;

if it is giving, then give generously;

if it is to lead, do it diligently;

if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

I know by looking at the ones Paul mentions, I have the ability to do some of those things well, but I also know that there are others in the body that are better than I could ever be with some of them. I have also had the opportunity to work with others, combining my gift with theirs, to form a very effective team serving Him for His Glory. 

Look soberly at yourself. What gift or gifts has God given you?  Are you using them?  If not, “Why not?”  

Ed Johanson                The scripture is from the NIV