On Sunday I asked a couple people to turn a jump rope and asked for a volunteer to jump in as the rope was spinning. The illustration couldn’t have gone much better unless the guy had messed up once or twice before jumping in.
Jumping into a turning rope is like finding out what special gifts God has given us. We will never know if we don’t try to jump in. All of us as Christians have been given special gifts by Holy Spirit. All of us.
We will not look past the greater gift that God has given us—eternal life through Jesus Christ. When we say “gospel” or “good news,” it would be best to remember the topic of that news. It’s not just that we are getting a good deal or company is coming ( or leaving), but we were the losers in a cosmic war and now Jesus has become our champion, defeating sin, death and the Devil himself. The Good News is that you, though damned, can live eternally through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice.
As Jesus won this battle for us, he has brought gifts with him. Take for examples these spiritual gifts: faith, encouragement, service and evangelism. The Bible commands us to do all four of these things, so we have a calling (Two people are spinning the rope, asking you to jump in). We have the ability to do these things (If you have healthy legs, back, etc. you can try to jump into the rhythm of the rope). Do we have the gift? (How will you know if you’re good at jumping rope if you never try to jump in?
These gifts are given to you specifically. God thought of you when he gave you gifts. Why would you just let your gifts sit around you without opening them? For the good of the body of Christ and the pleasure of living the life God has for you, jump in.
