I am so happy to be gathered here together this morning in this amazing place
with you all. When I look out at you I not only see the beauty that’s behind you,
but I see the beauty that IS you. Each and every one of you brings something
unique with you here this morning, and I am so grateful for the reminder of this
that we heard this morning in the book of Romans. We each have gifts that differ
according to God’s grace given to us: prophecy, ministry, teaching, influencing,
giving, leading, being compassionate….
When I was first out of college I found myself with a degree in Communications
with no clue what to do with it. Two months after graduation Russ and I moved
to SC immediately following our honeymoon. There I found myself fresh out of
college, newly married, and living 700 miles away from anyone I knew. I ended
up taking the first job I could get and that happened to be at a Starbucks that
was about ½ mile from where we lived. My time at Starbucks did not come to
an end quickly, in fact I found myself there for almost 2 years. And in those two
years, not many days went by that I didn’t question what in the world I was
doing there. “God, don’t you have a bigger plan for my life?” I would often ask.
“Why can’t you reveal something to me that gives me a clearer picture of what
you want me to do?” Very often I would find myself a little bit lonely and feeling
kind of bummed out about it.
Looking back on this I know I was not alone in the way I felt. I know that there
are times in everyone’s lives—no matter how old we are or what stage of life
we’re in—when we find ourselves wondering what God’s plan is. We might
question whether or not we have any real talents or abilities that we can
contribute. I remember in that time of my life and honestly in times since then,
often comparing myself to other people. I had friends that could sing really well,
people I knew who were incredible artists, some had awesome jobs where they
used their specific college degree every day …but I just couldn’t seem to find my
niche. I wish in that time when I was really down on myself I would’ve thought
about this scripture…that I could’ve been reassured that God had given me a gift
even if it didn’t look how it did in other people’s lives.
One of the key things I think God wants us to do is to remember that we still
have gifts—each one of us—even if they look different than the person next to
us…. even if you don’t think your gift lies in the arts, or athletics. Maybe your
gift lies within your ability to relate to people. Or maybe you’re a really
compassionate person. Maybe you’re a leader among your friends.
Even when the book of Romans was written many years ago it said “do not
conform any longer to the pattern of this world…” that doesn’t just apply to the
things we do but the way we think… Don’t buy into the thinking that we have to
have it all figured out all the time, we can be confident in the fact that we do
have God given gifts, some yet to be discovered within ourselves. I used to not
even be able to make a phone call to order pizza or make an apt when I was
younger b/c I hated talking to strangers so much. And now I am totally
comfortable speaking in front of people and very rarely get nervous! Being a
people person was an uncovered gift I hadn’t yet discovered.
Some of you were part of the Confirmation class called Confirm not Conform. I
really liked the name of that curriculum b/c it’s such a great reminder of this
scripture in Romans that tells us not to conform to the patterns of this world. Yet
so often we conform and go along with how other people behave, act, react,
talk. But God doesn’t want us to conform, he wants something different for our
lives. He wants us (verse 1) “to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and
acceptable to God, which is your is your true and proper worship. Do not conform
to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
So even if we haven’t uncovered that special gift in ourselves, we can still glorify
and even worship God by renewing our minds and choosing the high road. How
we treat others, how we speak to one another, how we think of one
another….God wants us to reflect him. In fact, 1 Cor 6:19 says that our body is a
temple of the Holy Spirit! If we were to approach each day, each scenario, each
argument or each conversation as if we were in fact God’s temple and we were
able to worship him just in the way we handle ourselves in those situations, I
wonder how your approach might change?
When I was working at Starbucks I was one of the only Christians at the store
and I was faced with a decision to make during my time there. Be miserable and
sulk in my feelings of worthlessness and irritation that I didn’t have a “real job”
or try to glorify God by the way I lived even when I thought I should be doing
something more meaningful with my life. And you know what’s cool about all of
it? I had the opportunity to take one of my co-workers to church with me once
when she was going through some really hard things in her life. And she began
going to church more regularly and later told me how grateful she was I
introduced her to church and that had made a big difference in her life. So even
when I thought there was no purpose in my working at Starbucks, He used my
ability to love and relate to people to have a lasting impact on someone’s life.
Think about all the examples that those of us that went on the mission trip have.
Some people didn’t feel like they were “good at” painting or doing manual labor
and some people didn’t think they were good at working with these kids that
were all over the place and completely different from what we were used to.
Julian even said when he shared the other week that he didn’t know how he
could make a difference in two short days of being with those kids…. But then
after we were there and we experienced those things we walked away feeling
like God really did use us in some way and had an amazing feeling b/c we gave
part of our life to worshiping God through the way we were living and serving.
So the major point that I want you to take away from today’s message is
this…no matter where you find yourself today—whether you’re still searching for
something and feel somewhat lost or you feel like you’ve found your sweet spot
and you are using your gifts everyday…just remember that God wants us to
commit our lives and our bodies to him as a spiritual act of worship, regardless
of where we are. It’s a daily act and commitment. There will be some days
where you feel like it’s a very natural thing and you know exactly where you are
and what you should be doing…and it just feels easy. There will be other days
where it seems very difficult and it takes too much effort. But the more we
renew our minds and transform our thinking, the more we make the effort to
commit what we have to God, the easier it will become to be confident in the
gifts God has given us, and He will use those as a blessing to others in the
process.
God of Love,
We thank you for the gifts, talents and skills with which you have blessed us.
We thank you for the experiences that have brought us to this moment.
Be with us as we move forward, rejoicing with you and supporting one another.
We ask this in your Holy Name.
Amen.