Ok so now onto my test. This test was 125 questions long with answers that were either 0, 1, 2, or 3. (3 being the most true for yourself and 0 being the least true) Each question related to how you live your life and what would you do in certain scenarios. After reading my results I can't say that I was surprised by any of the gifts this test said I had. I already knew that I had 3 out of the top 5 results. So I thought that I would share them with all of you who do read this blog. hehe...
So lets start with #5 on the top 5 spiritual gifts that I have.
#5: Faith. By definition from the test faith is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to discern with extraordinary confidence the will and purpose of God for His work. I have to say that this was probably the most surprising to me. I believe in the Lord and His purpose for me, but I can't say that I am the best in putting my faith in Him all the time and on some occasions most of the time. I mean I have a degree in philosophy, that should explain everything hehe... but really having faith is being able to believe in something that you can not see. I like to be realistic. I'm very skeptical about a lot of things that people say are miracles. For example, if someone told me that they grew an entire limb over night by the grace of God, it is very hard for me to believe something like that really happened without actually seeing it. Its not like I don't think they are telling the truth but realistically does that really happen to anyone? So yes this gift was the most surprising gift I apparently have, according to the test.
#4: Service. This one is actually tied with #5. By test definition, service is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to identify the unmet needs involved in a task related to God's work, and to make use of available resources to meet those needs and help accomplish the desired results. This is one that I knew I had. I love to serve within the Church, but here's the catch. I don't like to follow orders or rules hehe....If you go to RCAC and have worked with me, you will know this. It definitely is not something I'm proud to say but yes I have made many mistakes while serving the Lord. I serve in any capacity that I can in Church and in particular the youth group in my church. Sometimes it gets to the point where I do everything and am not able to really put my all into the different roles I take up.
#3: Missionary. By test definition, missionary is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to minister whatever other spiritual gifts they have in a second culture. This I also knew I have considering I am currently living in another country that is not my own for the next year. I have never been one to not travel. I love to travel which means that it is not hard for me to get familiar or accept other cultures. The part that gets me with this is "minister whatever other spiritual gifts they have." I have no idea how to do this! So I was a little taken back by this definition. I will explain why later.
#2: Martyrdom. By test definition, martyrdom is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to undergo suffering for the faith, even to the point of death, while consistently displaying a joyous and victorious attitude which brings glory to God. Well the good news is that I will die for the Lord, the bad news is that it probably will be a painful and agonizing death....hehe...ok in all seriousness I was surprised by this at first but then thinking about it, I can see why I got this result. I am NOT afraid to die. The idea of death has never frighten me. I actually love adrenaline. I wouldn't say I'm an adrenaline junky but I could be close. I mean skydiving is definitely on the bucket list alongside bungee jumping. And my thinking has always been if I die from any of this then I die, it means that I have done what God has put me on this earth to do and I if I live then I still have more to do for Him. However I never really took this kind of mentality in thinking that I could be a martyr for Christ haha...who knows maybe one day I will be, you never know.
and lastly #1: Administration. By test definition, administration is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to understand clearly the immediate and long range goals of a particular unit of the Body of Christ and to devise and execute effective plans for the accomplishment of those goals. This is no surprise to me that this was at the top of the list of my spiritual gifts. This is another gift that I knew I had. If you read my very first post you know that I am a planner. I like to coordinate and organize events and retreats. And also mentioned earlier, I was raised to be independent which naturally resulted in leadership characteristics. This is not to brag that I have these qualities cause with these qualities comes its downfalls. I tend to be very impatient and critical of other people's work. I used to be very blunt about how I felt toward other people's work and don't get me wrong I still am, but I'm getting better at not doing that.
OK so anyways why share these results. So when talking about the missionary gift, I said that I was taken back by this definition. Here's why. It was always hard for me to grasp the idea that these spiritual gifts we have are not all unique to ourselves. Everyone has spiritual gifts they're just all different combinations for each person and some are more apparent than others. I also never understood how you share gifts like this. Its not like you can wrap it and hand it to someone else. I also never thought of a missionary as a person to share their gifts with others, I thought of them more as preachers ministering the good news of God. And then thinking more about it, a missionary is a person who shares their knowledge and talents to other cultures to help them stand on their own within their faith. So then I thought about what a spiritual gift is to me and I came up with this thought. To me a spiritual gift is a tool that the Lord has placed in us to use in the Great Commission. Then I thought if that is the case how do you NOT share these gifts?!? Jesus had disciples for a reason and that was to make more disciples. But in order to do that the disciples had to be taught how to make disciples. So these spiritual gifts are not only to be used but shared with everyone so that when you do die someone is still able to continue on the task that has been given to all of us.
Now I thought that it would very hard to share the gifts I have as they are not the most caring of gifts. They are actually more of the demanding side of life hehe...I mean martyrdom...really? How do you share that? hehe...BUT then I was thinking about it, I already am sharing my gifts without even knowing it. I am a missionary in Thailand! By just sharing the fact that I am here on a mission trip most people here already want to know how do I do what I'm doing and it sparks natural conversation about faith and trust in the Lord to do something similar. Also you need to be a little crazy to pack up your life and go to a different place within this fairly large world, so I guess you need a little martyrdom in you to do such a thing. (Ok so I'm still trying to figure out how you share the martyrdom gift hehe...)
Next year we will be continuing the english school here within the church with more teachers coming in from others places. And guess what, the school is just starting up again and it basically needs to be restructured from the foundation up. Now what are the odds that someone with a gift of administration is the first person to arrive here and help start up the school again? Slim to none, but that's how God works! HE HAS A PLAN!!! And I will be helping those who follow later next year to run this school and keep it going. Meaning by doing that I would be sharing my gift of administration and service.
Now faith is leading by example. Living my life here everyday not knowing what will happen next is already sharing my faith to those around me. Faith is something we all share by just admitting to the fact that we are Christians. So yes a missionary is someone who not only preaches the good news but shares their gifts as well. These are just some of my spiritual gifts. What are your spiritual gifts?
