Gifts and giftedness

The other day on Facebook a co-worker posted some drawing and painting she'd been doing lately - it was really good.  It was another reminder to me how little I generally know about the pre-ministry life of most of my co-workers.  I've been surprised when the subject has come up occasionally to learn of significant gifts and abilities laid aside to serve God and people in other countries...e.g. among our regional leaders is a concert pianist!  There have been others who have left very successful well-paid careers to serve in very important but low-profile roles for the sake of the Gospel.

Needless to say I get a bit stuck sometimes when I hear it suggested that the way God will use us is necessarily tied to our gifts and abilities, that is, the thing God calls us to do will naturally be something we do easily/well and which we enjoy.  The problem with that from my perspective, is that if this is the case, 99 percent of us serving cross-culturally would have to conclude we got the call wrong!  For most of us, whatever we did with ease and confidence back home we can no longer do where we are now.  In many cases each day is a challenge grappling with cultural constraints and considerations - not to mention the language!  The opportunities we enjoyed back home to serve in roles we had natural gifting for and had also developed a degree of confidence for, are a thing of the past and most days involve a degree of pushing myself to do things I feel little natural aptitude for.

An additional thought...we might also consider that assuming our call lines up with our natural talents is a luxury only enjoyed by those of us who've had the opportunity to discover and develop those talents. What I mean to highlight is the fact that there must be a wealth of talent amongst the world's poor and underprivileged but it will go undiscovered as all of their energies are poured into mere survival.  If we imagine it a natural relationship, or even our "right" to serve in a role that exploits our talents and gifts, do we neglect those who will never know that opportunity?

Maybe we will be called to serve God according to our gifts (I do actually believe this is quite Biblical)...but maybe our gifts will be just that...gifts that we give back to God, laying them down so that we can serve in the way He calls us - which may or may not line up with our talents and giftings.  It may, in fact, mean that in doing so, our service allows someone, or many, to discover their value, personhood and giftedness in Christ.  If that is so, then my gifts, in a round about kind of way, have still served God and His purposes, but ironically by not using them!

So, I reckon filling out a questionnaire designed to diagnose our gifts, and therefore guide our understanding of God's call upon our lives falls very short of figuring out God's will and way for us.  Steeped in his Word, caught up in His story, loving Him and loving His purposes is much more likely to effect a real impression of what His will for our lives is, and then we can move with confidence in His grace, whether or not our gifts feature highly along the way.