Here’s the thing. 1Peter 2:9 says “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” This verse alludes to a concept familiar to the church called “the priesthood of all believers.” The idea is simple. All Christians are part of God’s priesthood. We are all called to serve the Lord. We are all called to declare His praises. This runs the gamut of everything from corporate worship, to devotions, to evangelism, etc. If you are a believer in Jesus, you are called to serve Him. The primary way we serve the Lord, mostly by using the gifts He has given us. To be obedient is to act on that calling.
Hopefully by now, you are starting to know what your gifts and talents are. From there, it’s a matter of getting creative. How can you use what you have been given to serve someone else? This is not always obvious, but if we are a priesthood of all believers, then every believer has been given something that was intended to be used to glorify God. One of the great ways to find opportunities is to talk to your church leadership. While I don’t know a lot about your church, one thing that seems to be universal is churches are always looking for people to help out. Tell them about your gifts and that you feel led to use them to serve the Lord. There may be a task that is obvious to them on the spot, or they may need to take some time to pray.
One thing to note, your gift may not be a fit for the Sunday morning service, but this does not mean you’re off the hook. Sometimes your gift will fit in to a different kind of ministry. I’ll give you a personal example. One of my favorite things to do in the entire world is drawing cartoons and comics. Now I do use this in my church ministry in a variety of ways, but one day I got an email from our local retirement community. They were looking for people to volunteer for their annual flower show. When I saw their theme was “Superpowers and flowers,” I wondered if I could be of service with my cartooning skills, so I replied. It turns out they were wondering and praying about who would do the drawing work for this event, and I was (sort of) an answer to prayer.
Sometimes using your gift is as simple as seeing someone in need of help and stepping up to help them. I invite you today to pray a “dangerous prayer.” Ask God to show you a way to use your gift and then keep your eyes open for that opportunity to be revealed and when it is revealed, give it al you’ve got, serving in faithfulness, as if you were doing what ever you’re doing for the Lord. (Colossians 3:23).
Bottom line, the priesthood of all believers says if you’re a Christian, you’re a priest and if you’re a priest you’re called to serve. The good news is finding your gift and discovering how God wants to use it, is a large step toward what most of the world is seeking… The Meaning of Life!
Assignment: Seek opportunities to serve, both inside and outside the church. Make a list and pray over it. Act on anything that you feel God leading you to act on.
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