![]() “Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 6:1-7) The song goes, “Hide it under a bushel? No! I’m going to let it shine. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.” Some of us are still trying to figure out what our gift is, but rest assured, we have at least one. The expectation is that we will use it, and use it to the glory of God. Each and every one of us is an essential and important part of the body of Christ. It’s just that sometimes we need to have that gift stirred in us so that we can go forth in faith. “There is a town where only ducks live. Every Sunday the ducks waddle out of their houses and waddle down Main Street to their church. They waddle into the sanctuary and squat in their proper pews. The duck choir waddles in and takes its place, then the duck minister comes forward and opens the duck Bible. (Ducks, like all other creatures on earth, seem to have their own special version of Scriptures.) He reads to them: “Ducks! God has given you wings! With wings you can fly! With wings you can mount up and soar like eagles. No walls can confine you! No fences can hold you! You have wings. God has given you wings and you can fly like birds!” All the ducks shouted, “Amen!” And they all waddled home.” Charles Spurgeon asks the faithful question, “What has God trusted you with? Add up each item, and compute the total sum…Enquire what you can do, what more you could do, what more you might learn to do, what more you ought at least to attempt. Diminish nothing from the just amount of your possibilities; and it will greatly tend to stir you up, if you then enquire, “How far have I done what I could do? How far have I used all that has been committed to me? How much of my life has been allowed to rust, and how much has been made bright by wear and tear in the service of the Master?” Sweet things are pleasant, but sharp things are often more beneficial. Pillows for our heads are not our main desire; we wish, as soldiers of the cross, to be found faithful first of all and above all. We shall have to give an account before God. Oh, let us give an account before ourselves now, in the forum of our own conscience, and so stir up the gift that is in us.” Dear Lord, help us not to be as the ducks, to be reminded of our potential, to be reminded that you have bestowed upon at least one gift, to respond, Amen, and return to our homes and still do nothing with our gifted potential. Please stir up the gift that is in us. GiGi❤️ Parable of the Ducks taken from: https://philipchircop.wordpress.com/2012/10/28/parable-of-the-ducks/ Source | Tony Campolo, Let me Tell You a Story. Pages 81-82 Excerpt from Charles Spurgeon/Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Volume 18Hide it under a bushel? No! I'm going to let it shine Let it shine, all the time, let it shine.
1 Comment
Paul Berry
6/1/2022 04:43:48 am
The duck story is priceless…
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