December 10, 2022

I saw a picture of a painting by Trisha Robinson, my favorite Christian artist, depicting a girl taking a gift to baby Jesus. I immediately thought about the wise men and their gifts to Jesus and why we give gifts during this time of year. It seems that God is the one who is the gift giver. He blessed us with the gift of Jesus as our Savior and the fruits of the Spirit, but he also gave us spiritual gifts. Those gifts are our offering to Jesus, and we should present them to him as often as possible. Paul gives us clear examples of the spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians, but there are other mentions throughout the Bible. 

For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 1 Corinthians 12:8-10

These gifts can manifest differently, but if you trace them back, they will probably lead to what Paul mentions here. One example might be music; it can be healing to the soul. Think about how a beautiful instrumental song can soothe your anxious feelings. Singing can be prophetic. Have you ever heard words to a song and knew it was God speaking to you? Many other gifts will relate to the spiritual gifts mentioned throughout the Bible. We must give these back to Jesus and use them to benefit his Kingdom.