If you could choose any super ability, what would you choose? To fly? To become invisible? To read minds?

Well, I haven’t seen too many Christians who can fly, but I know that God gives every child of his at least one super ability… and it’s something God thought was more useful than being able to fly or disappear!

What super ability is this? Well, that’s the most beautiful thing: it’s different in each of us! But when you become his, he gives you the ability to do something that you would not be able to do in your own strength, and he wants you to use it to bless others and build up the church. The Bible likes to call these super abilities “spiritual gifts.”

Have you ever known someone who just had the knack for knowing exactly what to say to encourage you when you were down? Or someone who seemed to always see little things that needed to be done to make an event run smoothly and was always running around doing those things? Maybe you’ve met someone who had an incredible ability to communicate clearly and confidently, and they’ve never been trained in that area. These are all examples of spiritual gifts—Holy Spirit-enabled super abilities that go beyond the talents and abilities we already have and make us even more effective in serving others and bringing people to Jesus.

Do you know what spiritual gift(s) you have? Most of us know what our talents are—you’ve been a budding soloist since you were three, or you’re the all-star on your soccer team, or you’re a whiz at using the English language. But spiritual gifts are different. They’re something you receive at your new birth, when you become a child of God. Sometimes they complement and super-charge your natural abilities, but often they are completely different, making it clear that God is the one giving you that ability.

If you don’t know your spiritual gifts, spend some time reading about them in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12. Ask your friends and family members which spiritual gifts they see in your life. Or take some steps of faith and put yourself in situations that require you to depend on God—often that’s when we see God-given abilities most clearly.

But remember, spiritual gifts have a purpose! They’re there to help you accomplish the mission: serving your fellow believers and reaching the world for Jesus. Peter wrote, “God has given gifts to each of us from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Manage them well so that God’s generosity can flow through you. Are you called to be a speaker? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Are you called to help others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then God will be given glory in everything through Jesus Christ. All glory and power belong to him forever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 4:10–11, NLT).

Whatever gifts you’ve been given (including talents, passions, roles, and spiritual super abilities), make sure that you find a way to use them for the Kingdom. And thank God for the super abilities he’s given you… they’re way more valuable for eternity than Superman’s ability to fly!

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digging deeper into spiritual gifts