Romans 12:3-8

I was thinking about this last night so I thought I’d share…Romans 12:3-8

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 measure of faith God has given you.4 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 who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

A couple quick observations:

1. We’ve always heard that grace is something that God has given us, right? But in verse 3 it says that grace AND faith have been given to us. That’s kind of weird. I always thought grace was something God did and faith was something I did but apparently not. God’s grace and my faith both belong to God. And here I am with…well…nothing…that’s good right?

2. Verse 6 starts this idea of using your gifts. But it has that little grace/faith element in it. “We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.” That’s the same faith and the same grace that God has given. Oh yeah, and the same gifts. Let’s not forget about those.

Some application:

If God gives the grace, the gifts and the faith what do I do? Still working on that one, when I figure it out I’ll let you know. *psssttt* I think it has to do with verses 1 & 2, something about offer your body as a living sacrifice…

So, as a leader my prayer for people is not give them gifts. It’s not get them to serve/operate in their gifts. It’s not that they would be smarter or more committed or even more like me! My prayer is that God would give them more faith. So…

God, thank you for your grace and your gifts but I need more faith. Please instill in us a supernatural ability to trust you no matter what our natural circumstances look like. Amen

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