Building

On Saturday we stopped at a yard sale and I scored three gallon ziploc bags of Lincoln Logs, all for three dollars. My tech savvy kids spent a couple hours playing with them, until Eben, my three year old decided to spend his time doing demolition instead of building. It reminded me of playing with my brother, who once he had passed the years of destruction, longed to play legos and FischerPrice town with me.

I hated playing. I had dolls, stuffed animals, My Little Ponies, Strawberry Shortcakes and a couple Barbies. (my mom hadn't made up her mind about Barbie) But I didn't play with them. I 'fixed' their hair. And then I looked at them.

When my brother hit age six this all changed, because he began receiving Lego sets for Christmas. I was thrilled. He was a little too young to put the castles together, but I was the perfect age. I built most of his castles. He wanted to arm the soldiers, fight, conquer...and just play. All I wanted to do was build. In those early years we never saw eye to eye, because the other was driven by a totally different perspective.

I recently noticed this same paradigm in the giftings of people around me. We are all so different. I like to create, imagine and build. So does my husband. The people closest to me love to manage, to pastor, to lead and inspire. It seems simple enough to notice gifting. Or to know if you're a builder or a manager. But most of our experience has been the direct opposite.

We are surrounded by criticism. The detail conscious is told they aren't time efficient. The trouble shooter is told they are lazy. The efficient is told they aren't meticulous enough. And the cycle begins again. Why the comparison? Do we really expect a person to have both brilliant ideas and impeccable follow through? Yes. Yes we do. In our high value for individuality, we expect every single person to be a jack of all trades, and master of all. Unconsciously, I expect that of myself.

Jesus doesn't think this way:

Ephesians 4:11-13New Century Version (NCV)

11 And Christ gave gifts to people—he made some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to go and tell the Good News, and some to have the work of caring for and teaching God’s people. 12 Christ gave those gifts to prepare God’s holy people for the work of serving, to make the body of Christ stronger. 13 This work must continue until we are all joined together in the same faith and in the same knowledge of the Son of God. We must become like a mature person, growing until we become like Christ and have his perfection.

The best support for what some would call the five fold ministry is that no one person can do it all, and that God didn't intend us to. In order to make the Bride mature, He gave us gifts; apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers. To equip us. To prepare us. To make us like Him. Whole and complete, lacking nothing.


Do you know what you are strong in? Do you like to create or do you like to manage? How has God created you? We already have an accuser of the brethren. Don't listen to him, and don't use his words towards others. Just dream a lot, do what He tells you to do, and encourage the Body. :)