My friend Bunny is a well-rounded Christian. She can lead... she can listen... she can comfort and console, she can admonish and correct... Bunny is able to take criticism and she’s able to give it (in love)... she can serve, she can let herself be served... You ask something of Bunny, and she’ll not only show up, she will be, she’ll do what’s required — and it’s never plastic or put-on. Bunny is just one of those well-rounded Christians who seems to have every spiritual gift. And you know what? I think she does.
She reminds me very much of how the apostle Paul described himself in 1 Corinthians 9. You know, where he said that to the Jew he became a Jew and to the weak he became weak? It says, “I have become all things to all men...” That’s Bunny.
If you were to ask her what her spiritual gift is, I’ll bet she’d scratch her head, smile, and say, “Honey, I think I have just a little bit of all those gifts.” She’s right. I’m convinced that the closer a person gets to Christ, the more that person is like Christ — and you can’t find anyone more rounded in the faith than the Lord Himself. He embodied every spiritual gift — He led, He served, He gave and administrated and taught and exhorted... He did, He was it all!
I believe that a mature Christian is one in whom the gifts of the Spirit are evenly distributed. You know that a Bible teacher is mature when he can find joy in clearing the table after a church potluck. You know a leader is fully Christ-like when he can serve in the kitchen. You know that a person who exudes mercy and compassion is complete when she can also confront and admonish. To the weak they can become weak; to the Jew — as the apostle puts it — they can become a Jew. They can fill the niche... and they can do it graciously, without showcasing how adept and flexible they are. Such is my friend Bunny.
What is your spiritual gift? Rejoice in it, whatever it is — serving or giving, leading or teaching... and take heart: your joy will increase as you become even more conformed to the image of Christ because your joy will find expression in the exercise of all the spiritual gifts. And when that happens — and it may happen in such a way that you won’t even realize it — when it happens, maturity just might creep up on you. People will see you as whole and complete, and you may not even know it. You will be... well-rounded. You will be like Bunny — no, you will be like Christ.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 93176
© Joni and Friends