The Web Warrior

John 19:30 (NIV)
30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Few weeks ago, I received a text message from one of our young people in our church. After reading her text message, GOD reminded me the last words Jesus have spoken before he gave up His Spirit, “It is finished.”

Wow! Despite of the physical pains Jesus got from the Roman soldiers, He kept on going till He died on the cross. He faithfully carried out the mission the Father gave Him. His goal is to die on the cross and pay the price for the sins of the world by His blood and save us from eternal death. But what if He decided to stop and pass it to others instead? Definitely no one is willing and worthy to accept that mission and nothing will be accomplished. There will be no salvation too.

Everyone of us has goals in life. There are no shortcuts in fulfilling these goals; there must be sacrifice involved. And when there is sacrifice, there is pain too. Let’s do not stop in pursuing our goals in life especially if it’s for GOD’s glory. There is no success and self fulfillment for an unfinished project. Our eternal goal is to get the eternal prize - the eternal life through the blood of Jesus Christ. GOD is faithful to His promises. He will surely reward those who are faithful and obedient to GOD’s commandments.

Let’s keep on moving with the wisdom He is giving us everyday and with the help of the Holy Spirit till we succeed and then celebrate by shouting “It is finished!”

1 Corinthians 12:7-11 (NIV)
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

Can we equate spiritual gifts and salvation? There are some Christians base their spiritual levels and salvation in terms of having these spiritual gifts. This is nothing new. The Christians in Corinth has the same dilemma that’s why Paul reminded them in 1 Corinthians 12 to have the right attitude towards their gifts.

There is nothing wrong in having one or more gifts. It doesn’t mean that being good to a specific gift deepens our relationship with the Lord or assures us of our salvation. Some Christians use their gifts for personal purpose or even for self-actualization. Others feel good in having special gifts such as speaking in tongues or prophesying. We cannot fool God. We can be a good steward of gifts and talents but let us not forget that the main purpose of it is to edify the church and draw more people for the glory of God.

All spiritual gifts come from God as being manifested by the Holy Spirit and therefore must be set for His purpose and not ours. We can spend more time on discovering our gifts or on improving our talents but let us not forget to spend time on meditation and prayer.