Do I Have an Ant Farm on My Shelf?

May, 2006

by: Tim Carns

Who can forget, when they were a child, the exhilaration of receiving a gift on their birthday or Christmas? I remember one Christmas when I was eight or nine years old, I had in front of me a huge stack of presents. One gift, in particular, grabbed my attention because of its large size and bright wrapping paper. The anticipation mounted as I began to unwrap the gift. As I tore through the paper I wondered if it was a set of Legos® or Hot Wheels or army men. Perhaps it was a new board game or a model Lamborghini. The moment had come. The wrapping paper was off. What stood before me was a white box with large red letters across the top which read…“Ant Farm.” Ant Farm?! I was completely disappointed. The words which came out of my mouth went along with the pained expression on my face as I exclaimed, “What am I going to do with an ant farm? I can’t play with this!” Well, the plastic box full of ants burrowing through the sand ended up on the top of my bookshelf, collecting dust.

As I reflect back upon that unwanted and neglected childhood gift I am reminded of the fact that the Holy Spirit has given gifts to all believers to minister to the Body and yet these often sit on a shelf collecting dust, rather than being used in the church. In the last Calvary Review we learned from Ephesians 4:15-16 that Christ causes growth in His Body, the Church, “according to the proper working of each individual part.” That is, every believer needs to be actively involved in the Body in a proper way for Christ to bring growth to that Body. The question is: What does it mean for me to be a proper working part? One answer is that you must be exercising your spiritual gifts. The following passages teach that we have been given a special gift by the Holy Spirit to use in ministering to fellow believers in the Body of Christ.

As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11 Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen (1 Pet 4:10-11).

Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith (Rom 12:6).

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit…But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good…But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills (1 Cor 12:4, 7, 11).

The word used for “gift”, charisma, refers to that which is freely and graciously given. It is a bestowed favor. These verses reveal several vital truths regarding spiritual gifts.

1. Every believer (“each one”) has been given a gift as determined by the Holy Spirit. Do you realize that if you have been saved you have also been given a gift? You don’t have to pray for it or do something to earn it. It is a gift that you have in your possession right now.
2. Not everyone has the same spiritual gift. God has not given all of us the gift of preaching or of mercy or of service. He has distributed different gifts to each believer.
3. We are to employ our spiritual gift. God commands us to use the gift which He has given us. To not actively use that gift would be violating His command.
4. The purpose of the gift is for the common good of the Body. We must seek to exercise our gift(s) for the good of other believers, not to draw attention to ourselves or to receive accolades.
5. We are stewards of the gift which God has given us. We don’t “own” our gift. Nor have we earned it. It is given freely by God as a manifestation of His grace upon fellow believers. He has given each of us the privilege to minister to one another through the gift(s) He has given.
6. The goal of our spiritual gift is that God may be glorified. He is to be praised for any work done through us. He receives glory as we use our gifts to help others become more like Christ.

How are you employing your spiritual gift for the common good of your brothers and sisters in Christ at Calvary? If you are not using your gift, then you have a spiritual “ant farm” in your life that needs to be taken off the shelf and used for the building up of the Body of Christ. Perhaps the reason you aren’t exercising your gift is that you don’t know what it is. If that is the case, commit to plug yourself into a ministry and serve there in whatever way that you are able. If you are not involved in the church, then you are not even in a position to exercise your spiritual gift whether you know what it is or not. To find out more on how to identify and exercise your spiritual gift(s) tune into the next Calvary Review.