IDENTIFYING GOD’S INTEREST IN OTHERS (VII)
“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” 1 Corinthians 12:7 NIV
God calls us individually, but He trains us in community. Sanctification is both personal and communal. We may think we are patient until someone slows us down. We may believe we have a gentle spirit, until pressure squeezes us and reveals a temper we thought was gone.
Likewise, we do not truly perceive spiritual growth until God allows us to be refined alongside others. The very traits He is forming in us are confirmed in real relationships, real delays, real frustrations, real opportunities to choose humility over pride, grace over irritation, and love over self-interest. The same is true for the manifestation of the Spirit. The gifts God gives are not badges of identity but assignments of service.
Teachers grow in grace and clarity as they steward faithfully the truth entrusted to them. Leaders, servants, and ministers of any kind learn where their affections truly lie when tested — not in isolation, but in the real work of shepherding, encouraging, correcting, and loving others for Christ’s sake. Child of God, we do not find our spiritual maturity in solitude alone; we discover it more fully in the sacred friction and fellowship of God’s people. Community does not hinder holiness—it exposes our need for grace and proves the Spirit’s work in us.
This is why the arguments of not needing the church and the community it brings will ever be obsolete. Selah!
Prayer: My Father, I thank you for calling me into your family that I may grow. By this, I welcome the refining work that comes through community and relationships. Teach me to steward the gifts you have given for your glory, and the good of others. Strengthen my spirit where it is weak, confirm your work where you have brought growth, and make me a vessel of grace in every place you send me, in Jesus name. Amen!
CI.
RELATED RESOURCES
• Proverbs 27:17
• Ephesians 4:15
• 1 Peter 4:10
