Por cuanto nosotros mismos hemos sido moldeados en todas estas partes, excelentemente formadas y operando maravillosamente, del cuerpo de Cristo, sigamos adelante y seamos aquello para lo que fuimos creados.
ROMANOS 12:5 (PAR)
Lo que eres es el don de Dios para ti; lo que haces contigo mismo es el don tuyo para Dios.
PROVERBIO DANÉS.
DIOS MERECE LO MEJOR DE TI.
Él nos formó con un propósito, y espera que explotes al máximo lo que te ha dado. Él no quiere que envidies ni te preocupes por las habilidades que no posees, sino que te enfoques y uses los talentos que te ha dado.
Cuando intentas servir a Dios de maneras para las que no estás formado, es como meter un cubo a la fuerza dentro de un círculo. Resulta frustrante y produce resultados limitados. También es una pérdida de tu tiempo, tu talento y tu energía. La mejor manera de vivir tu vida es sirviendo a Dios de acuerdo a tu FORMA, para lo cual debes descubrir tus dones, aprender a aceptarlos y disfrutarlos de modo que puedas desarrollarlos a su máxima expresión.
Descubre tu forma
La Biblia dice: «No actúes desconsideradamente, sino trata de encontrar y hacer lo que sea que el Señor quiere que hagas».1 No dejes que otro día se te vaya. Comienza a encontrar y clarificar lo que Dios quiere que seas y hazlo.
Comienza evaluando tus dones y recursos. Tómate un tiempo, considera honestamente en lo que eres bueno y en lo que no lo eres. Pablo aconsejó: «Trata de tener un estimado sano de tus capacidades». Haz una lista. Pregúntales a otras personas su opinión sincera. Diles que estás buscando la verdad y no cumplidos. Los dones espirituales y las habilidades naturales son siempre confirmados por otros. Si piensas que has sido dotado para ser maestro o cantante y otra persona no está de acuerdo contigo, ¿qué crees? ¡Si quieres saber si tienes el don del liderazgo, mira sobre tus hombros! Si nadie te sigue, no eres un líder.
Haz preguntas como estas: ¿Dónde he visto frutos en mi vida que otras personas puedan confirmar? ¿En qué he visto que soy exitoso? La evaluación de tus dones espirituales y los inventarios de tus habilidades pueden tener valor, pero son limitados en su utilidad. En primer lugar, están estandarizados, de manera que no toman en cuentan tu singularidad. Segundo, no hay definición de los dones espirituales enlistados en la Biblia, así que cualquier definición es arbitraria y representa casi siempre un prejuicio denominacional.
Otro problema es que mientras más maduro eres, más propenso estás a manifestar las características de cierto número de dones. Puedes estar sirviendo, enseñando o dando generosamente debido a tu madurez en lugar de deberse a que este es tu don espiritual.
Reflexión:
Descubre tu forma. Comienza evaluando tus dones y recursos.
Day 32 • Using What God Gave You
Since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be.
ROMANS 12:5 (MSG)
What you are is God’s gift to you; what you do with yourself is your gift to God.
DANISH PROVERB
GOD DESERVES YOUR BEST.
He shaped you for a purpose, and he expects you to make the most of what you have been given. He doesn’t want you to worry about or covet abilities you don’t have. Instead he wants you to focus on talents he has given you to use.
When you attempt to serve God in ways you’re not shaped to serve, it feels like forcing a square peg into a round hole. It’s frustrating and produces limited results. It also wastes your time, your talent, and your energy. The best use of your life is to serve God out of your shape. To do this you must discover your shape, learn to accept and enjoy it, and then develop it to its fullest potential.
Discover Your Shape
The Bible says, “Don’t act thoughtlessly, but try to find out and do whatever the Lord wants you to.” 1 Don’t let another day go by. Start finding out and clarifying what God intends for you to be and do.
Begin by assessing your gifts and abilities. Take a long, honest look at what you are good at and what you’re not good at. Paul advised, “Try to have a sane estimate of your capabilities.” Make a list. Ask other people for their candid opinion. Tell them you’re searching for the truth, not fishing for a compliment. Spiritual gifts and natural abilities are always confirmed by others. If you think you are gifted to be a teacher or a singer and no one else agrees, guess what? If you want to know if you have the gift of leadership, just look over your shoulder! If no one is following you, you’re not a leader.
Ask questions like these: Where have I seen fruit in my life that other people confirmed? Where have I already been successful?
Spiritual gift tests and ability inventories can have some value, but they are limited in their usefulness. In the first place, they are standardized, so they don’t take into account your uniqueness. Second, there are no definitions of the spiritual gifts given in the Bible, so any definitions are arbitrary and usually represent a denominational bias. Another problem is that the more mature you become, the more likely you are to manifest the characteristics of a number of the gifts. You may be serving or teaching or giving generously out of maturity rather than because it is your spiritual gift.
The best way to discover your gifts and abilities is to experiment with different areas of service. I could have taken a hundred gift and ability tests as a young man and would have never discovered that I was gifted at teaching because I had never done it! It was only after I began accepting opportunities to speak that I saw the results, received confirmation from others, and realized, “God has gifted me to do this!”
Many books get the discovery process backwards. They say, “Discover your spiritual gift and then you will know what ministry you’re supposed to have.” It actually works the exact opposite way. Just start serving, experimenting with different ministries, and then you’ll discover your gifts. Until you’re actually involved in serving, you’re not going to know what you’re good at.
Reflection:
Discover your shape: Begin by assessing your gifts and abilities.
