‘Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all! Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord . Instead, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.” Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.’ Romans 12:3-21(NLT)
‘Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges ; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form,’ Philippians 2:3-7(NLT)
‘But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.’ 1 Peter 2:9(NLT)
Think about your unique passions and gifts. As you walk with Jesus and live out the works He created for you to do: teacher, mama, doctor, missionary, artist, etc., these roles should always ultimately point back to Him. He called us out of darkness into marvelous light to declare His praise through the very tangible expression of the work we put our hands to everyday! With our whole lives, we get to give honor and glory to Him.
Living and working for His glory and the good of others requires a posture of humility. This goes against the way the world often encourages us to live: to climb the ladder, make lots of money, have all the nice things, build your personal kingdom. But our kingdom and citizenship is not of this world. We’re called out of that life to an existence where it’s about leveraging our lives for God’s Kingdom and the building up of the Church.
This fully embodies the heart of Jesus – that we would live our lives and pursue our calling for the good of others and the glory of God. Not selfishly or for our own advancement, but with an intentionality to live and serve generously so that others would know Jesus and come alive in Him.
After reading the Scripture from today, choose one verse and commit it to memory. Be on the lookout for how you might leverage your life – your calling – to shine the light and love of Jesus into someone’s world today!
from Flourish In Your Calling