We need to practice submission. This comes out in Romans 12:1–21: Present your bodies as a living sacrifice; be transformed by the renewal of your mind; I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think. In other words, Paul says we need to cleanse our hearts, purify our motives, abandon self, lay aside all pride, evil, and all thought of self‑display, and we need to kneel and yield ourselves to the Lord Jesus, and say, Lord, not what I will but what you will. We need each one to say, Lord, I am ready to be whatever you want me to be. I am ready to do whatever you want me to do. I will lay aside my preferences, my comfort, and I will offer my body as a living sacrifice. Such are the people God will use.

Gifts without grace are extremely dangerous. In Matthew 7:1–29, our Lord tells us that, at the last day, he will speak to some very, very gifted people and he will say, Depart from me. I never knew you. Gifts and grace go together. When grace is lacking, the exercise of gifts does harm.

One last piece of advice: we need to be patient. In our enthusiasm for Christ, there may be so much we feel we want to do, but sometimes we find our circumstances frustrating—in our homes, in our daily lives, in our congregation. The congregation is not as alive; it is not as sensitive; it is not as encouraging we feel as it should be. Sometimes God makes us wait longer than we would like. That waiting is not a waste of time, for it is in that waiting that we learn to be sensitive and humble, and our faith and love are developed. When Christ needs you, he will use you if you are available for him.¹

Edward Donnelly