God Empowers Me to Live My Calling

“There are different spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit gives them. There are different ways of serving, and yet the same Lord is served. There are different types of work to do, but the same God produces every gift in every person.” 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 (GW)

Like most people, I tend to struggle knowing the unique calling God has for my life. But once I understand the gifts he has given me—and the abilities he’s given specifically to me—I can begin pursuing the plans he’s called me to.

The moment I step across the line and put my faith in Christ, God gives me four major gifts:

Forgiveness. Romans 5:15 says, “For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ” (NLT). When I put my faith in Jesus, the first thing he does is wipe out everything I’ve ever done wrong. I am forgiven! There is no condemnation.

Eternal life. God has long-range plans for me. The Bible says in Romans 6:23, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (NIV). I'm never going to work my way or earn my way into heaven. The only way I’ll ever get into heaven is by God’s free gift that I accept by faith.

The Holy Spirit. Romans 5:5 says, “God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us” (NIV). How do I know when I'm letting God live through my life? When I embody the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Special abilities. In the Bible, these special abilities are called spiritual gifts. They are different from material or physical gifts. They’re the abilities I need to do the job that God wants me to do. Most people who are believers don’t even know they have spiritual gifts, much less what those gifts are. But if I'm a follower of Jesus, I do have them!

The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 12:4-6, “There are different spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit gives them. There are different ways of serving, and yet the same Lord is served. There are different types of work to do, but the same God produces every gift in every person” (GW).

God has a purpose for my life, and my spiritual gifts are the tools he gives me to do what he asks. God will never ask me to do something he doesn’t give me the ability to do!

In summary:

While God gives people different gifts, callings, and ways to serve, they all come from the same God and are part of His unified purpose. Though it’s natural to struggle with understanding one’s unique calling, clarity comes by recognizing and embracing the gifts God provides through faith in Christ: forgiveness that removes all condemnation, eternal life that is received by grace, the Holy Spirit who transforms character from within, and spiritual gifts that equip each believer for God’s specific work. These gifts are not accidental or earned but intentionally given, affirming that God has a purpose for every life and always supplies the abilities needed to fulfill what He calls a person to do

Bottom Line:

God has a specific purpose for my life, and He has already given me—through grace and the Spirit—everything I need to fulfill it; my role is to recognize, trust, and faithfully use those gifts.

Next Step:

Intentionally identify and begin using the gifts God has already given me. Spend focused time in prayer and reflection to clarify my spiritual gifts, seek wise counsel or assessment to confirm them, and then take one concrete action this week to serve or lead in a way that aligns with those gifts—trusting that obedience brings clarity as I move forward.

Unity Is Our (My) Greatest Witness to Unbelievers

In John 17:22-23 I read, “I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” (NIV)

Jesus’ last prayer before he went to the cross was that the church would live in unity: “The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind—just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, so they might be one heart and mind with us. Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me” (John 17:21 The Message).

Jesus tied other people coming to Christ with his followers’ unity? He said other people would believe in him when they saw Christians loving each other and living in unity. This is Jesus’ vision and goal for anybody who claims him as their Savior.

The next verses of Jesus’ prayer say that God gives us his glory so that we will be unified and others will see the Gospel: “I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (John 17:22-23 NIV).

The purpose of God’s presence in my life is to make me more loving, not harsher or more opinionated or more stubborn, but more loving.

Do I want God’s glory in my life? Do I want God’s power in my life? Do I want to feel God’s presence in my life? Jesus says he gives his glory, his power, to those who lay aside secondary differences with other Christians. He wants me to lay aside the things that don’t really matter so that I can live in unity with other believers.

Our unity as God’s family, the church, is our greatest witness to unbelievers.

More than ever, people need to see that unity is possible, and it is found in the church. It is our responsibility to lay down our pride and preferences so we can focus on God’s purpose.

Our love for one another will show the world we belong to Jesus and be a testimony of the power of Christ to transform lives.

In summary, Jesus asks that I be one with other believers as he is with his Father and the Spirit. Together with other believers, we are brought to complete unity so that the world will know that God sent Jesus, who loves us, as much as the father loves him. I read in these passages that Jesus’ last prayer before he went to the cross was that the church would live in unity and become one heart and mind, just as He and the Father are. Jesus tied other people coming to Christ with his followers’ unity. He said other people would believe in him when they saw Christians loving each other and living in unity. This is Jesus’ vision and goal for anybody who claims him as their Savior. The purpose of God’s presence in my life is to make me more loving. If I want God’s glory, power, and presence in my life, he’ll give it to me as I lay aside secondary differences with other Christians. So I need to lay aside the things that don’t really matter so that I can live in unity with other believers. Unity as God’s family, with the church, will be our greatest witness to unbelievers. People need to see that unity is possible, and that it is found in the church. Therefore It is my responsibility to lay down my pride and preferences so I can focus on God’s purpose. Our love for one another will show the world that we believers belong to Jesus and to be a testimony of the power of Christ to transform lives.

Jesus' great desire for his disciples was that they would become one. He wanted them unified as a powerful witness to the reality of God's love. Am I helping to unify the body of Chris, the church? I can pray for other Christians, avoid gossip, build others up, work together in humility, give my time and money, exalt Christ, and refuse to get sidetracked arguing over divisive matters. Jesus prayed for unity among believers based on the believer's unity with him and the Father. Christians can know unity among themselves if they are living in union with God. For example, each branch living in union with the vine is united with all other branches doing the same.