The Seventh Day of Christmas

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . seven swans a-swimming.

The seven swans can be likened to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit which include: prophecy, ministry, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading, and compassion.

We have all received gifts from our loved ones at one point or the other in our lives. Can you remember what that moment felt like? Can you remember the happiness and joy that comes with receiving a gift especially when it was something you weren't expecting? 

If gifts from our fellow men could lift our spirits and make us the happiest at that moment, how much more the ones that are given to us from above?

What are spiritual gifts?

Spiritual gifts are something every believer is given when they receive the gift of salvation. Just as the gift of salvation is by grace through faith, so are the spiritual gifts. Our God is so generous. He is constantly giving us things.“Christ has generously divided out his gifts to us." (Ephesians 4:7)

What then are these beautiful gifts?

We have seven of them...Yes!!! Seven great gifts of the Holy Spirit.

“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and everyone, it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” (1 Corinthians 12:4-7 NIV. They are already mentioned above😁. 

 

The scripture also says that there is grace given by the Holy Spirit as He wills (1 Corinthians 12:11). You get a measure of grace upon your life to operate in that gift. So for some people, it comes naturally and other people have to work at it. Remember those guys were given talents? One of them had five and another one had only one. All those talents were shared based on the grace apportioned to them.

What I love most is the fact that the Bible likens the gifts of the Spirit to parts of the body meaning that one is not more important than the other.

You know I like telling stories. So one day, I bit my tongue hard. I was eating and I finished the food cause I could be a foodie at times. The next day, it seemed as though the pain catapulted. I didn't want to eat anything. I had to struggle with eating because it was very difficult for me to chew the food. For a whole week, I couldn't eat well. Needless to say, I lost weight. I began to appreciate my tongue after that event and became more careful when chewing food.

It may sound somehow to you but every part of your body has a function and without that body part, you will not enjoy yourself. The Bible itself says that can the ear say to the hand that I do not need thee? So just because you can't prophesy it doesn't make you any less of a person who can.

We are told to desire earnestly these gifts. God does not want us to be content with spiritual gifts. The parable of the talents shows us that God gives us what we have so that we can use it to gain more. He doesn't want us to bury our gifts.

I do hope you appreciate the gift He has bestowed on you. I hope that you understand that the significance of a man may not be fully seen by our eyes but by Heaven's eyes. It's not the size of the gift that matters, it's the heart of the giver.