The Lord said to Moses, "See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic design . . . (Exodus 31:1-3).
I had just filled the fuel tank on my farm tractor and started the engine to let it warm up for the hard day of work that lay ahead when I noticed hydraulic oil begin to "gush" forth from deep inside the tractor; a hydraulic line had burst. Having done a fair amount of mechanic work in my life, my first thought was to attempt to fix it myself. I removed a heavy access plate to gain entry to the internals of the tractor. Once removed I found that the access was not much of an access at all and after studying and working at the problem for a couple of hours I decided to talk to my mechanic about it. He said, "Give me a few minutes to gather some tools and I will come and see what I can do." When he arrived I showed him exactly what the problem was. He laid himself up on the tractor near the access point, it is a big tractor, with tools in hand and within two hours the tractor was repaired.
I told myself as I handed him wrenches and watched him work, "This guy is made for what he does." I have "wrenched" enough over the course of my life to have experienced the down and dirty of intimacy with machines, reading the manuals, getting sweaty and greasy, laying in the dirt, snow and on cold concrete, but I am not a mechanic. I am not efficient when I do the work, the desire to do it day after day is not in me because it is a frustrating job for me. On the day my mechanic worked on my tractor I did not hear him swear once, but my Christian vocabulary is severely tested when I am doing that kind of work--perhaps the Lord is teaching patience.
The counselor in me understands that life generally works out as it should, meaning that when hereditary and environmental factors and the Spirit of God are considered, it is no surprise that a person ends up doing what they do. I believe that the Spirit of God has led each person who is doing honorable work to his or her task. One need not worry about what their gift is, just get on with the tasks at hand and the gift will become evident. Do not worry about finding the gift, you will find it as you serve our Lord and Savior each day.
Grace&Peace;
Tom
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2 comments:
I enjoyed your post. I can imagine you doing all the things that you described because I have seen you work hard on the farm. I was just thinking about spiritual gifts this morning as I lay in bed this morning, feeling frustrated with the lack of volunteers at church. I guess the only thing I want to say about spiritual gifts is that one shouldn't do something just because it "is not their gift." Spiritual gifts are spiritual and can be given when needed, at least that is what I believe. The problem is that people don't want to try. I know that being a mechanic is not a spiritual gift, but I do admire the times that you have tried your best with what you have had and known when you needed help. Love you dad!
Thank you, Rebecca. I know that there is a small difference between a talent and a Spiritual gift but there isn't as big a difference as you might think. God has not left his creation to fend for itself. Those with different talents use them to serve others & thus God cares for his creation. God gifts some for careers in medicine, some for law, some for theology, some for mechanics, some for entertainment, etc. It is through these means that God cares for his creation. Each person who pursues an honorable and worthwhile occupation has been gifted by God; it is not limited to Christians. I hope what I have said makes sense as communication is not my gift, but I try to do it anyway.
Our Father's Love to you
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