There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.  (1 Corinthians 12:4 NKJV)

When my son was a toddler, he picked me a bouquet of dandelions one day. I can still remember the sweetness in his smile as he toddled over and handed them to me. Some people see only weeds when they see dandelions. I see the happy face of a child. An expression of pure love as he offered the best of what he had to give.

This past weekend I kept the son of that same dandelion picking child, my two-year-old grandson. The flowers are mostly dead this time of year. That didn’t stop him from picking a handful of spent and dried blooms and bringing them to me. His mother once told me that when the boys pick flowers for her, they are more precious and valuable than any fancy store bought bouquet. And she’s right.

Instead of falling into the comparison trap, shouldn’t this be an example to us? This is how God views our spiritual gifts. Just as I recognized my grandson gave me the only “flowers” he could find, God knows what we’re capable of because He’s the one who gave us our abilities. I didn’t expect or wish for any other bouquet from my grandson’s tiny hand. Neither does God expect or wish for us to give something that we don’t have.

Receive Gifts Well

The diversity of gifts, distributed in His sovereign will, doesn’t come with a score card. We aren’t being graded “on the curve” as my college professors used to say. We’ve each been given a gift that is to be used in the proper place and at the proper time for the unfolding of God’s plan of redemption.

The question is whether we willingly accept our gift without coveting anyone else’s, and if we will surrender our will—our wants, desires, dreams, and expectations—to use that gift for His glory.

Thinking of our gifting as too little or insignificant when compared to someone else is utter foolishness (yes, I said it!). And if we fail to serve God with our gift because we don’t value it, then we rob God of the glory due Him.

Share Gifts Generously

But if we bring Him the best of what we have to offer—even if it looks like the dried up and browning flowers of fall—we can believe that He is filled with joy. 

I know this is true because He’s given me a glimpse of that joy, first in a handful of dandelions and then in a tiny fist of brittle blooms, freely given with great delight. No feelings of inadequacy or regret. No envy or shame that it isn’t as significant or substantial as what someone else has given.

Just pure love pouring from a grateful and happy heart.

As Believers, we must escape the comparison trap and choose to rejoice in the diversities of our gifts, joyfully bringing our precious uniqueness’s together for the glory of God.