July 20 | I Corinthians 12:4-11

Elaine Pierce
Jul 20, 2025
3 min read

DAILY READING

REFLECTION

God's Good Gifts

By Elaine Pierce

The best job I ever had was a perfect fit for my abilities and interests. Oh, I had times of frustration and angst, to be sure, but 90% of the time I looked forward to going to work. Two of my colleagues from that job are dear friends today, nearly 15 years later. My current career - retired and redeployed as Pastor Joe likes to say - is also deeply satisfying. While I'm not receiving a paycheck, I'm deriving great satisfaction from many different 'jobs:' serving on the board of Divine Dignity (check us out at www.divingdignity.org), delighting in time with grandchildren, helping our small group deepen our faith commitment, and, of course, writing the Sunday Worship post every week.

What is the purpose of spiritual gifts? Is it to provide enjoyment and satisfaction for ourselves? Certainly that is a welcome byproduct, but Paul makes it clear in today's passage that these gifts are for the common good (v. 7). They are not given to us in a vacuum - they are for the building up of the body of Christ. Thank the Lord that he has given different gifts - wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miraculous powers, prophecy, tongues, interpretation of tongues are among them - so that together we become more effective for the kingdom.

If you read through the rest of this chapter, you'll note an important warning from Paul. Yes, we should eagerly expect spiritual gifts from the Lord, but the ultimate, the greatest gift of all, is love. I Corinthians 13, one of the most well-known passages in scripture, powerfully reminds us that spiritual gifts without love are meaningless, null and void. I can write a beautiful post about scripture, but if I'm doing it to bring honor to myself, it's worthless. A preacher can preach a brilliant sermon, but if all he or she cares about is how many people tell him 'great job, pastor,' his words will be hollow and meaningless.

Yes, we all have work to do. Work for the common good - to bring honor and glory to the Lord. Take time this week to thank Him for the many ways he has blessed you - your work, your family, your talents and abilities. Thank him for the hard times, too, the times when you wondered when your job would ever be fulfilling or when you doubted that you had any special gifts. God gives to each of us - how do we give back? With thankful hearts, with joy in the knowledge that he is always gracious, always merciful and always loving.

PRAYER

Lord, I eagerly desire to use my spiritual gifts, but so often I fall short and use my gifts for my own enjoyment and not to bless the body of Christ. Help me to seek the greatest gift - the gift of your love - and to share that with others. Amen.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ELAINE PIERCE

It is a delight and joy to write Sunday's UALC Blog post. I have been a UALC member for 20+ years and I value our community of believers. I draw strength from God's Word, and it is my hope that you join me in seeking to grow closer to Him as we read, study, and pray together. I've been married to Gene for 47 years, and we have four grown children and nine grandchildren. It is an exciting time to be alive, and I count it all joy to serve him, even in the midst of challenges. To God be the glory, for the great things he is doing!