Opening the Big Beautiful Gift in Front of Us!

Missio Lux is a faith community

where everyone participates

serving out of our gifts and resources

for the building up of everyone else.

Imagine this. Your spouse or child comes to you all excited because they have this big, beautifully wrapped present that they can’t wait to give you. But, you say, “oh well, I might get around to opening it next week.” How do you think that would make them feel? What would that do to your relationship?

You have a big, beautifully wrapped gift from God, in the form of spiritual gifts. 1st Corinthians 12:7 says this: “A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.” God delighted in creating these gifts and putting them within each of us so that when we decide to become Jesus’ follower, the gifts emerge.

But, there’s a catch. We have to decide to open them and use them. Opening involves discovering what gifts we have and understanding that they are present to help us walk our faith in ways that serve God and the people around us. Using involves learning about them and then putting them to action!

The third phrase in our Missio Lux Description is “serving out of our gifts and resources.” The gifts referred to are spiritual gifts which are supernaturally empowered abilities designed to help equip and strengthen Jesus’ Church.

So, practically, how do we open the gift? It’s fairly simple: you can take a quick assessment online which will highlight your spiritual gifts: www.buildingchurch.net/g2s.htm ***
This is best done in relationship with your missio community, along with a prayers of blessing and commitment to take the next step of using them.

Using them is also done best in your missio community. The more serious we are about living out the Missio Lux description out of Ephesians 4, the greater fulfillment we will experience in walking the Jesus’ lifestyle in community with our MC. The more we live into our supernaturally empowered abilities, the more we will realize we are living the life of meaning; eternal life now on earth.

I am currently writing a Missio Community assessment which will greatly help us in this process, but don’t wait for it to be done; take the step now and discover the big, beautifully wrapped present being held out in front of you!

Unwrapping the present can be one of the most powerful experiences of your life. Here’s one story of how one woman’s life was changed:

She came very unexpectantly to my class one Sunday at Pine Lake where I was teaching spiritual gifts; the gift that I covered that day was intercession. It was most definitely a God appointment for her as she realized for the first time that she had an intercession gift and that is why she didn’t enjoy serving on committees or in the nursery, leading her to much frustration in her church. She felt called to pray. She began to develop her gift and over time, her faith has lit on fire and as a result she has led different intercessory teams that are making a huge impact in the place where she lives.

The invitation is before you: open the gift!

The challenge is also in front of you: put the gift to use to help those around you.


***After completing the assessment, read through the next section with descriptions of your gifts.

The different Bible passages are also listed for further exploration:
Romans 12:3-81 Corinthians 12:1-311 Corinthians 14:1-40Ephesians 4:7-161 Peter 4:7-11