Nougat 10

Love is something when you give it away, you give it away, you give it away –

Love is something when you give it away; it comes right back to you!

It’s just like a magic penny

You put it in your pocket and you don’t have any

But if you spend it or give it away, it comes right back to you!

For today’s Holy Nougat let’s remember this chorus and consider God’s Spirit as the Love to be shared.

“He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip. To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.” Matthew 25:15, 29 NLT

We don’t all have the same gifts, but each is gifted by God’s Spirit according to our abilities. Our ability generally refers to our natural gifts and skills; but in this parable, I think it also applies to our personality and perseverance. (Interestingly, the word that transliterates to ‘abilities’ is dunamis – which also means ‘power’ or ‘dynamism’.).

As our Creator, God knows what we’re capable of. And gives us opportunities to not only expand our own Faith but to also shine God’s Light for others to see. If we choose to reject the gift, then there are some people who will have one less opportunity to receive Christ. When we invest the power however, we benefit because it comes back, strengthening and spurring us on in our faith.

Further I’d note that how we operate in our giftings may be like persons on a path to learning. That is, we may operate in limited ways in our gifts initially and as we use them more often, we grow in confidence and understanding of how to apply our gifts. Then, as we see the gifts being manifested in us, and as we fertilize our Faith through the Word, Fellowship and Prayer, we also will see abundance in the manifestation of God’s Spirit upon our lives.

We might wonder how do we know what our abilities are. With what ‘power’ have we been gifted? Although there are several tools available for us to do our own research, I would propose that we speak with God and ask for a revelation of the gifts we’re blessed with. Then after a season of discerning, we might visit those apps.

In some cases, there are persons who are anointed by God to recognize the gifts and confirm them to us. That is also very important, as this is what distinguishes the charlatans (fakers) from those with the real deal. Of course, it also means that the person who confirms the spiritual gift in our lives needs also to be under God’s anointing.

Unfortunately, many of us believers fail to be intentional in learning about or understanding how God’s Spirit operates in our lives. And that is seriously to our collective detriment. For, as long as we remain ignorant, we won’t operate in our gifts. As long as we fail to operate in our giftings, there is a deficit in our sphere of influence. And when there’s a deficit, someone else is obliged to fill the gap we’ve created. Hence, what we Had is now gifted to another.

Praying us wisdom and grace as we grow in Faith and discernment.

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May all we seek be founds or in Christ