The Gray Sweater

The Gray Sweater

“Is there anything they would discover in you that you could take credit for? Isn’t everything you have and everything you are sheer gifts from God?”
-I Corinthians 4:7 MSG

It may seem like a silly, trivial thing to some, but seeing my mom wearing the sweater Nancy and I gave her for Christmas when I arrived here in New York last night made me feel good. Even after a 6 hour plus drive, and a small ordeal at the border, my 94 year old mom wearing that gray sweater produced a special feeling. We all know that feeling of satisfaction, the thought that something we have done, or a gift we have given, is both appreciated and liked.
Sitting up after my mom went to bed, I started to wonder if God feels the same way about the gifts He has given us. James 1:17 tells us this:

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father

of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

The gifts the Lord has given to His people are incredibly diverse from the ability to make others laugh to the anointing to heal the sick. Some people have been blessed in areas that we would not usually associate with gifts, like the person with the unique ability to show compassion and understanding to the man or woman going through pain and loss. Others have been given wisdom to the degree that they are able to counsel others facing difficult life-changing decisions. The apostle Paul said that our gifts differ according to the grace given us, which means that for each gift given to us by the Lord, there is also the divine ability given to operate in the gift and use it for the Lord’s glory.


Our gifts and talents are not to be like trophies to put on display for others to see, and they’re not to be hidden and kept for safe keeping, or for another day. Like the gray sweater, they have been given to be used; they have been given for “the common good”; they have been given to bless and make a difference in other lives. But so many miss their gifting because they look for the more public abilities, the more outward, visible ministry gifts and callings when God has blessed them with talents that are so needed in the world: the door greeter who makes everyone feel welcome in church, the one person who comes to the funeral and you feel really understands what you’re going through, or the person who you know loves you for who you are, not for what you do for them. We have each been given unique gifts and talents; let’s make sure they’re not sitting on a shelf somewhere; gifts are given to be worn and to be used!

God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church