Thursday, March 27, 2008

Wired

Every week or so I scan a few of the blogs of people I have met or listened to over the years. As I read these blogs I see God doing amazing things in a variety of ways - using different people from different walks of life as his hands in the world. I am always amazed and in awe at how God uses such diversity - but it also makes so much sense. People are wired differently, and we need this diversity to reach out to others.

So this morning I started thinking about how we are wired. Now I am not talking about the "wired" part of life that comes by sitting at Starbucks, guzzling mochas, and having a body filled to the limit with caffine (you now know one of my weaknesses:), but rather wired in the sense of how we were created. We were all made differently - given different gifts with different experiences in our lives. Scripture talks about this in the form of the Body. As the Body of Christ we all are a different part - head, toe, finger, arm, etc. Each part of the body is essential - none is more valuable than the other when it comes to making the Body complete.

What this tells me is that we are essential and needed to God and to others. We may not see how valuable we are, but in order for the Body to be whole, we are extremely necessary.

And the gifts we are wired with are essential as well. God gives us these gifts for a reason, for a purpose, and part of our calling in the body is to discern what that purpose is and then use the gifts we have been given - rather than letting them sit on shelf collecting dust.

Another part of being wired differently is respecting the gifts of others. We cannot do everything on our own. The Body has different parts, different uses, in order to make the body complete. This part of being wired differently is also a humbling experience for us because it requires us to say - I cannot do it on my own, I need the help of others and of God. It shows us that we are not all powerful. But it is also wonderful because we can see how God uses others to complement our gifts and do more work in the world.

So my question this morning is - what has God wired you with? What are some of the gifts you have been given? And how can this Body work better by complementing those gifts and do new things to reach out to others?

1 comment:

Betty Dygart said...

'Being wired' is an interesting title to have come at this particular time, because I am writing this from a motel room, with their advertised "free internet connection," but it must be the lowest possible speed and power. I am 'wired,' but just barely.

I am in Orlando, taking a long weekend trip with Nathan. While he is in the shower, I thought I would use his laptop to keep in touch with Pastor E's blog.

In Psalm 16 it is written that "God is my refuge... and apart from Him, I have no good thing." I believe this to be true. I also believe that God works all things to good. As mere mortals we may not see the good, but it is there.

I was 'wired' from an early age to love words and putting them together. I have never been a fast reader, and there were teachers in my educational journey who attempted to increase the speed with which I did so. I could never see the point. If I did what they told me, I might "get the general drift" of what I was reading, but I found that I missed the construction, the structure of the sentences, the way in which the author had built his or her ideas. So, I slowed down again, savoring what I read, as one would a flavorful meal, each sentence having its own discernable taste.

This blog has given me a new avenue to express my ideas, to share my fears, my joys. As such, it has 'wired' me to an audience I would not have otherwise ever found.

I was asked to take on a different role in church leadership prior to this year's election. I turned that opportunity down, choosing instead to remain the church board secretary. I choose to stay in that position because I believe I am more helpful there than I would be somewhere else. I feel called to do that work.

I am hopeful that God will continue to call me to what He sees as jobs I can complete. I have not been misled so far, and each day brings new opportunities.