“Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; he who teaches, in his teaching; he who exhorts(encourages),
in his exhortation; he who contributes, in liberality; he who gives aid, with zeal; he who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.”
Romans 12:6-8 (RSV)
In the scripture today, the apostle Paul lists many gifts of the Spirit. A gift of the Spirit, also called a charism, is an ability or service bestowed by the Holy Spirit, to edify others. Paul is telling the church to discover the charisms or gifts that we’ve been given, because gifts are meant to be used. This meditation will focus on one of the spiritual gifts, which is exhortation, meaning to strongly encourage others.
Everyone has a unique, possibly quirky, yet loveable quality that adds something vital to the body of Christ. It requires the gift of encouragement to be able to identify those good qualities in others, and then encourage them to use their gifts. Some who are reading this have the gift of encouragement, or may know someone who has it. We have all been encouraged at some time by someone with spiritual insight, who inspired us at a key moment on our faith journey.
Offering encouragement to others might be the most valuable of all spiritual gifts. What good are gifts of prophecy, service, almsgiving, teaching or showing mercy, if a person is not “encouraged” to use those gifts?
Encouragement was given by the apostle Paul all throughout his ministry, to inspire the early church and those he personally mentored, like Timothy and Titus. He encouraged others to use their charisms and grow in faith to serve God and His church.
The gift of encouragement was once used by Paul in a most unusual way. He was one among 276 men on board a ship during a severe storm. The sailors were about to abandon ship and use the lifeboats, but Paul urged them to stay put, guaranteeing that all the men would survive the shipwreck. The ship was totally destroyed in the storm, but all 276 men on board, made it safely to the island of Malta.
(Acts 27:29-31)
According to Paul, his guardian angel told him that all the men on board will survive if they stayed on the ship. Paul’s encouragement did more than save 276 lives, but opened their eyes to the one true God and faith in Jesus.
At the Boston marathon this week, a first time runner collapsed four times when his legs became too weak to finish the race, until two other runners came along side him and held him up, all the way to the finish line. What are the chances that two total strangers would sacrifice their own win by helping another stranger who collapsed? The two strangers gave the weary man a gift of encouragement and those three men found a new friendship together. God calls us to stay on the ship, encourage the weary and finish the race together.
Encouragement is a light that brightens not just one heart, but inspires and unites others in the world who witness it.
Lord, help us to discover and use our spiritual gifts but especially to be the light of encouragement to all those who are weary among us. Amen
