10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve
one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:
1 Peter 4:10 (ESV)
1 Peter 4:10 (ESV)
The night that Jesus was arrested didn’t begin in a garden,
but the upper room of a house. That dinner was no ordinary one, it was full of
surprises. Jesus, revealed that one of his closest followers was a traitor, and
when He passed the bread and wine He compared it to the sacrifice He was about
to make on our behalf. Maybe one of the
most shocking and memorable moments was when He knelt in front of His disciples
and washed their feet. The job of the lowliest servant, and Jesus took it upon
Himself to serve these men in this way. Then, he encouraged them to serve each
other in the same way. It was this expectation of the Christian’s life that
Peter now passes on in his letter. In light of what Jesus had said to him years
earlier on that night that was forever seared into his memory, Peter commands
Christian’s to not just be vessels of grace, but conduits through which God’s
grace flows.
There are three key factors here that should be highlighted.
The first is from the opening phrase of the verse, “As each has received a
gift.” It establishes a condition for us, that can’t be ignored. Peter doesn’t
want his readers to serve out of their own power, but rather in the way they
have been gifted. The word gift is translated from the Greek word charisma. It
is related to the Greek word that is translated grace. So, Peter is literally
writing, “As each has received a gift of grace.” This is more specific than the
grace God extends to save us. It is rather a supernatural grace that each
member of His body is given in order to edify other members of the body. In the verses that follow, Peter specifically
calls out teaching (meeting a spiritual need) and serving (meeting physical
needs). Each of at different points have been blessed spiritually and
physically by God, and now are able to share those blessings with His people,
for His purpose.
The second key point
comes at the end of the verse, “As good stewards of God’s varied grace.” God’s
grace is not limited to one form. His grace meets us at every point of need and
is able to provide satisfaction. As
recipients of God’s grace, we are now stewards of it. He empowers us with it,
and meets our needs. When we find victory over certain struggles it is not
because we figured something out, But because we have received God’s grace.
When we gain insight into God’s word it isn’t because we are smarter than
someone else, but rather because God bestowed His grace on us. Every good gift
comes from above, and while God does want you to enjoy these gifts, they are
not intended for you alone. Maybe the reason we find so many people struggling
even within the church is not because God has not provided for that need, but
because God's people are not managing the provision of His grace well.
The third key point comes from the center of the verse, “Use
it to serve one another.” This gives us instruction on how to manage what God
has given us. The fruit of God’s grace in our lives was never meant for us
alone, but rather intended to bless and edify His church. The reality is His
intended target for giving you grace, may not have ever been you. But, just as
you have been served by Jesus, you are called to serve others. He humbled
himself into the form of a servant so that we might now be served. As each has
received God’s gift of grace, use it to serve one another, as good managers of
God’s many forms of grace.
I often wonder how different the church in America would
look if we each took our role in it seriously. I think we face our current
struggles, not because we need more of something, but because we aren’t
stewarding all of God’s gracious gifts well. I am convinced that the trouble in
the church of America is not that we need more programs or better marketing.
But rather, that we need more Christians willing to let God’s grace flow
through them as freely as it came to them.
Would those of you that are reading this, and feeling burned
out or as if you have no energy, be feeling that way now? If you were
experiencing God’s grace through the conduits of all of His people that He has
placed around you, I am confident that we would be much better off. Not only would
we be receiving the blessing of serving others, but we would be being served as
well. In addition, the church that gets this right would shine like a light in
a dark room, and it would draw everyone’s attention, and our God who bestowed
this grace on us would be greatly glorified.
The call to be a Christian is not a call only to be saved,
but also to be an agent of God’s mission of redemption and restoration. What
better place to begin your work than when His people are gathered. Sunday
Morning Missionaries aren’t attending church to check it off a list, or to get
what they can and leave the rest. They are not attending church like they are
shopping at Wal-Mart. Instead, they show up to bestow God’s grace on others in
the same way that they have received it. They join teams to serve, not because
they are asked, but rather because they want others to enjoy God’s goodness in
it’s various forms. Sunday Morning Missionaries are not seeking to horde the
wealth of God’s goodness, but rather to spend it well so that it encourages,
strengthens, grows, and advances His Kingdom.
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