our finest gifts we bring
Yesterday's song snippet was "joy to the world," with which I in theory agree fully, but yesterday was the second post-Christmas vacation snow day in a row for the junior member of the household. Not overwhelmingly conducive to joyfulness. Today, however, she's off to school -- joy abounds! :-)
"Our finest gifts we bring" -- a good line with which to conclude this Epiphany. The aforementioned return of the small fry to school puts me in a positive mood to begin with, but I'm feeling heartened by the possibilities the year could bring, and I hope you are, too. We cannot earn God's grace, but we can show our appreciation and work for God's kingdom through wise use of the gifts God has given us.
I'm trying to think creatively about the gifts I've been given. It's easy to become mired in a vision imposed by tradition, occupational history, or simple tunnel-style thinking. In reality, our gifts can be used in myriad ways. I'm a member of our synod's Candidacy Committee, a body charged with walking alongside candidates for ministry not just as pastors but as diaconal ministers, deaconesses, and associates in ministry. The latter folks envision their calls to ministry in delightfully diverse ways. Their ministry might happen far from the walls of a church, but it's God's work. And in the end, all our work is God's work. Bring your finest gifts to the table and however God uses them, you are serving as God's hands and feet (and mind, and heart, and muscles, and so on) in this world.
"Our finest gifts we bring" -- a good line with which to conclude this Epiphany. The aforementioned return of the small fry to school puts me in a positive mood to begin with, but I'm feeling heartened by the possibilities the year could bring, and I hope you are, too. We cannot earn God's grace, but we can show our appreciation and work for God's kingdom through wise use of the gifts God has given us.
I'm trying to think creatively about the gifts I've been given. It's easy to become mired in a vision imposed by tradition, occupational history, or simple tunnel-style thinking. In reality, our gifts can be used in myriad ways. I'm a member of our synod's Candidacy Committee, a body charged with walking alongside candidates for ministry not just as pastors but as diaconal ministers, deaconesses, and associates in ministry. The latter folks envision their calls to ministry in delightfully diverse ways. Their ministry might happen far from the walls of a church, but it's God's work. And in the end, all our work is God's work. Bring your finest gifts to the table and however God uses them, you are serving as God's hands and feet (and mind, and heart, and muscles, and so on) in this world.
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