Devotion - Thursday, October 17

Bishop Yoos began his bible study with us by showing a short video of an accomplished pianist involving a variety of persons in playing a classical piece of music.  He assigned them a note to strike on the piano, and when the time was appropriate would encourage them to play.  It was a beautiful expression of how each of us contribute to a larger symphony by planing our assigned one note.

This same lesson was reinforced by this morning's assigned Epistle reading.  In I Corinthians 12:1-11 Paul speaks of spiritual gifts.  His message isn't so much a delineation of the wide variety of gifts as it is an encouragement to see how our individual gifts are used to build up the common good. 

Too often we look to the gifts possessed by others, and wish those were the ones that God had given us.  Too often we over-value the gifts we don't have, failing to realize how essential it is for us to express the gifts we have been given.

"Well, that's nothing special," we say.  Or, "Anybody can do that."  Failing to realize that not everyone can, nor noticing that no one has.

Play your one note today.  Without it, the whole suffers.  Unless you express the gifts God has given you, God's purposes for the day will be left unfulfilled.