Gift and Reward for Glory
While attending the American Christian Fiction Writer’s conference this weekend, I felt an extra appreciation for the fact that everyone has a gift.
Some people are gifted in the arts while others excel in the sciences. My grandsons are gifted in sports. My husband, Larry, has many talents, but is especially good at gab, and I’m glad. We recently decided to sell our motorhome. My plan was to clean it up, park it out front, tape a sign on it and list it on Craigslist. While I was at the conference, Larry gabbed with his buddies here and there. It had sold by word of mouth before I got home. Go, Larry!
Gifts are unique
I had the pleasure of visiting with several authors. During one meal, I sat between a fantasy writer and a Bible history enthusiast. Talk about different ends of the spectrum! That evening, I shared stories with a romance author and a doctor who writes in the young adult genre. I appreciated further the fact that the same gift looked different on each.
Gifts bring reward
The conference ended with the Awards Gala. Both unpublished and published authors received awards for contest entries. It was interesting to listen as the newer and still unpublished writers humbly began their acceptance speeches with “I wasn’t expecting this.”
The newly published authors, a step further in their writing career, spoke more on the gift itself.
The most seasoned authors thanked God for using them and proceeded to exhort the listener to allow God do the same in their lives.
I noted that the longer each writer had used their gift, the more apparent it had become to them that they were simply God’s vessels. Not to say that the newest writers didn’t recognize God’s work through them. Rather, it was just obvious that the farther someone had journeyed with Jesus in their career, the more they had learned to rely on God’s provisions along the way, and the more they wanted others to experience the same liberation, trusting God with all the details.
So, I’ve been telling myself all day, “Stay on the road. Trust God. Encourage others to do the same.”
Reward for glory.
The reward for every recipient wasn’t the award. It was knowing that they had been an active participant in Kingdom business. Without exception, every winner gave God the glory. As it should be.
Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name goes all the glory for your unfailing love and faithfulness. Psalm 115: 1 NLT
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My husband has that gift of gab, too. And I most definitely don’t. There are so many unique paths to holiness, it’s amazing!
I’m not a gabber either. That’s probably why we work so well together. Yes, God has given each of us a special talent. 🙂