Doll Can Create

What Is in Your Hands?

Scripture: Exodus 31:1–6; 1 Corinthians 12:4–7

There are a few things I brought with me today.

Some of you have seen my spindles before. You know I enjoy spinning. And if you don’t spin, you might look at these and think they all basically do the same thing.

And they do.

But they don’t all do it in quite the same way.

Some are heavier. Some are lighter. Some spin quickly. Others seem happiest with a slower rhythm. This one feels different in my hand from that one.

And I’ve learned that I don’t need every spindle to be the same.

I simply need each one to do what it was created to do.

Maybe there’s something there for the Church.

Paul writes:

“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord.”

Different gifts.

Different people.

Different ways of serving.

But the same Spirit.

1. Recognize What God Has Put in Your Hands

Long before Paul wrote about spiritual gifts, we find a fascinating little story in Exodus.

God is giving instructions for the building of the tabernacle, and God calls a man named Bezalel.

But listen to what God gives him.

Wisdom.

Understanding.

Knowledge.

And—this is the part I love—craftsmanship.

Bezalel can make things.

He knows how to work with his hands.

And Scripture says that ability comes from the Spirit of God.

Sometimes we’ve made the idea of a “spiritual gift” far too narrow.

We think a spiritual gift has to happen in a pulpit, or at a communion table, or in a Bible study.

But what if God has already placed gifts in our hands?

Perhaps you bake.

Perhaps you garden.

Perhaps you repair things.

Perhaps you sing.

Perhaps you knit or sew or paint.

Perhaps you’re the person who remembers to telephone someone who is alone.

Perhaps you make people laugh.

Perhaps you can organize a room full of chaos when everyone else is standing around wondering what to do next.

What if those aren’t simply hobbies or personality traits?

What if they are things God can use?

A spindle sitting on a shelf can be beautiful.

But that’s not its purpose.

It was made to be held.

It was made to turn.

It was made to take what is placed into its care and help transform it into something useful.

Maybe the first question of faith isn’t always, “What should I be doing?”

Maybe sometimes the question is simply:

“Lord, what have you already placed in my hands?”

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2. Let the Spirit Bring the Fibres Together

[Take some prepared fibre and gently pull it apart.]

Look at this.

Before it becomes yarn, there are thousands of individual fibres.

On their own, they’re not terribly strong.

I can pull them apart quite easily.

But watch what happens when I add twist.

[Begin spinning.]

The fibres begin catching one another.

They overlap.

They hold onto one another.

And something that was fragile begins to become strong.

Paul says:

“There are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.”

That’s what the Spirit does within the Church.

The Spirit doesn’t erase our differences.

The Spirit connects them.

One person has compassion.

Another has practical skills.

Someone else teaches.

Someone sings.

Someone cooks.

Someone understands finances.

Someone quietly notices the person sitting alone.

And Christ takes all those different people and says:

I need you together.

That’s important.

Because sometimes we look at somebody else’s gift and think ours isn’t important.

“I’m not musical.”

“I can’t preach.”

“I’m too old.”

“I’m too shy.”

“I can’t do what I used to do.”

But Paul doesn’t say everyone receives the same gift.

He says:

“To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”

To each.

That means you.

The question isn’t whether you have something to offer.

The question is how the Spirit might connect what you have with what someone else has.

One fibre doesn’t have to become another fibre.

It simply has to become connected.

And together, the fibres become stronger.

Maybe that’s one of the things our churches desperately need to remember.

We don’t have to be alike to belong to one another.

We don’t have to agree about everything to love one another.

We don’t have to have the same abilities to serve beside one another.

Many fibres. One thread.
Many gifts. One Spirit.
Many people. One body of Christ.

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3. Let Love Decide What the Yarn Becomes

Eventually, I end up with this.

Yarn.

But even this isn’t really the end.

Because yarn has a purpose beyond itself.

It can become socks that warm someone’s feet.

A hat for someone who’s cold.

A shawl wrapped around someone’s shoulders.

A blanket.

Something beautiful.

Something useful.

Something given away in love.

And I think this is where our faith has to take us.

Our gifts aren’t given simply so we can say, “Look what I can do.”

They’re given for the common good.

And Paul will eventually take his teaching about spiritual gifts somewhere even deeper.

After talking about apostles and teachers and healers and all these different gifts, he says:

“And I will show you a still more excellent way.”

And then comes 1 Corinthians 13.

Love.

Without love, the gifts don’t mean very much.

That’s ultimately where Christ points us.

Jesus takes everything we have—our talents, our passions, our experience, our time, even the things we do simply because they bring us joy—and asks:

“Can you let me use this to love somebody?”

That’s when a hobby can become ministry.

That’s when an ordinary gift becomes holy.

Not because we put the word “church” in front of it.

But because the love of Christ flows through it.

Maybe that’s the direction we need to be moving as the Church.

Not constantly asking,

“How do we get more people to help with church?”

but asking,

“What do our people already love doing, and how could those things become expressions of Christ’s love?”

Maybe somebody loves gardening.

Could that garden feed someone?

Someone loves baking.

Could that loaf of bread welcome someone?

Someone loves knitting.

Could those needles create comfort?

Someone loves coffee and conversation.

Could that become companionship for someone who’s lonely?

Someone loves fixing things.

Could those hands make life a little easier for a neighbour?

The possibilities are almost endless.

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Many Gifts. One Spirit. One Love.

Look at them again.

Different shapes.

Different weights.

Different histories.

Different ways of doing their work.

I wouldn’t want them all to be identical.

And neither does God want God’s people to be identical.

God asks us to bring what we have.

Our gifts.

Our interests.

Our experience.

Our stories.

Our hands.

Our hearts.

And then to allow the Holy Spirit to draw us together.

Fibre by fibre.

Gift by gift.

Person by person.

Until something strong begins to emerge.

Something capable of carrying the love of Christ into the world.

So perhaps this week we could each ask ourselves three questions:

What has God placed in my hands?

Where might my gift connect with someone else’s?

And how could Christ use what I love to help someone know that they are loved?

Because there are varieties of gifts.

There are varieties of ways to serve.

But there is one Spirit.

And underneath it all, holding us together like the twist holds these fibres together, is the love of Christ.

Many fibres.
One thread.
Many gifts.
One Spirit.
One love.

And perhaps that is what God is spinning among us even now.

Your Invitation This Week

Take a moment and look at what is already in your hands.

What do you love to do? What comes naturally to you? What brings you joy?

Then ask one more question:

How could I use this gift to share the love of Christ with someone this week?

It doesn’t need to be big. Bake the bread. Make the phone call. Share something from the garden. Knit a few rows for someone who needs warmth. Sit down with someone over a cup of tea and listen.

And if you’d like, leave a comment and tell me:

What’s in your hands—and how might God use it?