Minister Victor Parrott
1 Corinthians 12:4-7 (NRSV)

⁴Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; ⁵and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; ⁶and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. ⁷To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

Get In the Mix! 

Baking is a fascinating process! It takes disparate ingredients and, through chemical reactions and exposure to heat, it produces delicacies. Some ingredients are sweet. Some are salty. Others are wet, while still others are dry. Some have coarse textures, while others are fine. In short, baking ingredients can have a very diverse set of physical characteristics and, in a lot of instances; they are not pleasant to the taste when consumed alone and/or uncooked. Nevertheless, in the hands of someone who is capable, they can be combined to produce something that is very delicious and very different from its individual parts. Flour, sugar, salt, eggs, etc. are transformed into chocolate chip cookies, red velvet cake, peach cobbler, etc. Those individual ingredients become much more than they would have been had they not been incorporated into some form of baked goods.

The family of faith in general and the church in particular can be viewed in the same way that baked goods are viewed. For example, what if the church was seen as a German chocolate cake? It would require a diverse mix. Flour, sugar eggs, egg whites, butter, pecans, coconut, vanilla, etc. are all quite different, but all quite necessary in order to produce a delicious and desirable German chocolate cake.

Believers are the ingredients. They vary in gifts and in characteristics, but each is necessary in the development of the church. Each one of them is an important part of the process that is known as ministry. But until they combine their different traits and abilities, they will not maximize their effectiveness or potential. They must put themselves in the hands of The Master Baker. He is more than capable! They must get in the mix!

Prayer 

Almighty God, you created us to be diverse, but you also created us to be in community. Help us to blend out talents in order to produce something that is pleasing to you. Amen.

Thought for the day 

Are you in the mix?