Earnestly Desire

March 15

On Spiritual Gifts

Read: 1 Corinthians 12

Earnestly Desire

“But earnestly desire the higher gifts.” (v.31)

Do you and I “earnestly desire” the higher spiritual gifts to be used for the building up and betterment of the body of Christ? This isn’t simply a question of “do you believe in spiritual gifts”; or a matter of “being ok with the idea of” all of the gifts laid out in the scriptures. This is not what Paul wrote. The instruction is to “earnestly desire”. Having just studied the early church and living in the “last days”, it becomes clear that the people of God need the gifts of the Holy Spirit and power that comes with them to bear witness for Christ. Before we can break down this teaching in 1 Cor. 12, I wanted us to tackle this hurdle: You cannot “earnestly desire” something you do not believe in… something you do not think is real, possible, or true.

When we read chapter 12 of 1 Corinthians we begin to see such a broad spectrum of gifts and roles within the people of God. We inevitably - because of our upbringing, church tradition, or own ignorance - have embraced some and ignore others. The Lord is calling us to broaden our hearts and minds… to make room for the truth that the Holy Spirit is still working and “gifting” us with the opportunity to participate in supernatural, powerful, divine work of God in this world! Why is it that we settle for such a narrow view of the gifts of the Spirit? Why do we allow ourselves to gloss over things like healing, miracles, prophecy, speaking in tongues, and apostleship? (To name a few.) My hunch is simply that - for some of us - we have never experienced it and have no framework to understand or apply it… so we simply ignore it. For some of you, this is very much a part of your walk with Christ - but my question for you then is do you earnestly desire more?

I think we have been conditioned as followers of Christ that asking for “more” is somehow wrong. We associate it with being greedy or with scam artists, tele-evangelist, snake oil salesmen sort of people. We have seen the idea corrupted, manipulated, and taken advantage of so many times that we are afraid to do exactly what the bible tells us to do. We feel sheepish or embarrassed to ask the Holy Spirit to give us more of his gifts or to teach us the gifts that we have already been given. We are going to spend a few days looking at this passage, but I wanted us to start at the end with the admonition to “earnestly desire the higher gifts”. Those “higher gifts” are like the cookies on the top shelf that you cannot reach on your own as a child. You want them… and are tempted to try and pull them down. You cannot get them on your own. You need to ask. Then one who CAN reach them comes and gives them to you! The Lord is calling you to earnestly desire what you cannot reach on your own… those gifts placed “higher on the shelf”… out of reach without permission and help from the one who can truly give them… the one who can BLESS YOU with them. The journey starts by being convinced they are even “real” in the first place. We must confess that we have made no room in our hearts and minds for those “higher gifts”. Then we can begin to “desire” to have them… not just passively be “ok” with them… but seeking them out. Only then will the people of God seek out and be part of ministry that they cannot reach on their own! Try this today, as you read 1 Cor. 12, write down all the different “gifts” that are mentioned. Now underline the ones you have experienced and circle the ones you have not. Put a star next to the ones you think you have been given. Take that list and pray specifically for the ones you circled and ask God to begin to give you opportunities to see those gifts in action… in use by another believer who has those gifts. Take that “circle list” and ask some other believers around you if they have ever experienced these things. Listen to what they have to say. I believe the time has come to stop settling for the sort of ministry we can reach on our own… God ready to hand us the cookie jar! Love you guys. - JDP