Religious study offers answers to reasons for being
Have you ever heard someone say that they are trying to find themselves and/or struggling to discover why they are here on this Earth? Perhaps you have uttered these words yourself, either out loud or in your own mind.
Finding oneself and one’s earthly purpose is not as difficult as it is made out to be. These questions can be answered through a personal study of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit are from God and are there for the asking. Their function is to be used to further the kingdom of God on this Earth. Every believer has been given several of them. Discovering what gifts you have been given leads to knowing why you are here and what your purpose on this Earth is. Most of the gifts of the Holy Spirit can be found in three passages in the Bible.
They are: 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, Romans 12:38, and Ephesians 4:8-11. What follows is a brief description of each of the gifts that God gives to his followers.
It is incumbent upon his people to discern which of them is germane to their life and then use them to the best of their ability. For example: one who has the gift of teaching should either go into the teaching profession or, perhaps, teach
Sunday school classes, or both. Or one who has the gift of exhortation should consider being a counselor or a mentor of others, et cetera.
Here are the gifts of the Holy Spirit and a brief description of each: the word of wisdom – a problem solver of the seemingly impossible (1 Kings 3:16-28); the word of knowledge – God gives you a message for someone and it contains information that only they would know, and you could not possibly know unless God showed it to you. (John 4:25-30); faith – believing that a hoped-for event will occur even though there is now no physical evidence that it will take place. Every Christian has been given some faith to start. (Romans 12:3 &Hebrews 11:1-6 & 32-38); healing – in the name of Jesus; miracles – in the name of Jesus; prophecy – relating a message from God to humans (Deuteronomy 18:2022); discerning of spirits – being able to tell if a spirit is from God or the Devil (1 Timothy4:1-3 & 1 John 4:1-3); speaking in tongues – speaking in an unknown language with a message from God (1 Corinthians 14);interpretation of tongues – interpreting an unknown language; ministry – service rendered by a deacon or elder in the church; teaching – an instructor of others; exhortation – to comfort others or to be able to call someone aside to appeal to them or to give them instruction for their good; giving – one that has the ability to give to others in need. One should give with no outward show of pride; ruling – one who is in a leadership or supervisory position of any business or of the church. One should lead with diligence and carefulness; being merciful – those that help the needy and sick and show mercy with cheerfulness and sympathy (Micah 6:8 and James 2:13); apostle – one who has the ability to plant and oversee churches and meets the requirements of an elder (1st Timothy 3:1-7); evangelist – one who brings the good news of Jesus Christ to others; pastor – one who is in charge of a congregation of believers in Jesus Christ.
After studying the gifts, it will become clear which ones you have been given. When an earthly person gives you a marvelous physical gift it is not prudent to put it in the basement and never use it. Similarly, Christians should not take the spiritual gifts that they have been given and never use them to further the kingdom of Jesus Christ. When we see Jesus Christ on his throne at the judgement, we want him to say these words to us that are recorded in Matthew 25:21: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou has been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of the Lord.”