1 Timothy 4:14
14 Neglect [ameleo] not [me] the gift [charisma] that is in [en] thee, [soi] which [hos] was given [didomi] thee [soi] by [dia] prophecy, [propheteia] with [meta] the laying on [epithesis] of the hands [cheir] of the presbytery. [presbuterion] KJV-Interlinear
14 Do not neglect the spiritual
gift within you, which was bestowed upon you through prophetic utterance with
the laying on of hands by the presbytery. NASB
When you are born
physically into this world, you are born with some sort of gift. Your gift may be a physical gift or a talent
of some sort, such as in sports or art or music, or the ability to organize,
and so forth.Physical gifts make up a
long list of abilities of which you certainly have one or more to get you
through life.
Your physical ability
is there to help you get through life, personally, socially, professionally,
etc.
Likewise, when you
believed in Christ, at that moment, you were reborn into a new spiritual
life.And at that moment you received a
spiritual gift, Rom 12:4-8; 1 Cor 12:1-4; 1 Peter
4:10-11.Everyone who believes in Christ,
receives a spiritual gift of some sort.
In your physical life,
if you ignore your natural talent or ability, then it is a waste. You are not living your life to its fullest
potential.
But in your spiritual
life, you likewise have a gift that needs to be utilized to its fullest in
order to live your life to its fullest potential.
And by the way, even if
you do not believe that you have a gift, that is a
part of the definition of neglect which we will cover below. Your gift is there, even if you do not believe
it.
In the physical life,
you probably have to practice, or advance your education, or do something in
order to bring your natural talent or ability to its peak. And as for your spiritual gift, the same
principle applies, however, your practice is not repetitions of physical
effort, but the repetition of daily study of doctrine.
God uses prepared
believers.Would any business or
organization use you if you were not prepared?
No.
Therefore, if God is to
use you in a way that He sees fit, for His purpose, then you have to be
prepared.And that preparation comes
only from your daily study and application of doctrine to your life.
Neglect, ameleo, means to be careless, make light of, to reject, to
disregard, to be negligent, to ignore.
And so you have a
spiritual gift.Whatever that gift is,
you may not even be aware of it for many years, but it is extremely valuable, because
God gave it to you.You would be foolish
to ignore it.And by ignoring Bible
doctrine in your life, you are in effect throwing away a major part of your
whole purpose of existing.
However, by pursuing your
daily studies, your gift will become apparent to you sooner or later. And whether it is to teach doctrine, to build
the next Mars rocket, to raise your children, or simply be brave at some
important moment in your life that might save or help others, then you will
only know it, if you pursue your preparation day in and day out throughout your
life, by studying with a passion.
How would you like to
go to heaven and ask St. Peter what your gift was, and then hear the response, Well
if you had been true to your studies, then you would have accomplished this or
that particular great thing.But you weren t,
so you didn t. And your response would
be, Oh. As you realize that you missed
out on a great opportunity, simply because you were lazy, or did not care, or
made light of, your daily Bible studies.
And who recognizes your
ability?God. He is the source of your gift. And in life, there will be someone who will recognize
your gift, even if most do not.
Timothy received the
gift of instructor or teacher.He
received this gift from God.He did not
receive it when other pastors placed their hands on him. People do not have the power to bestow gifts
on anyone, not even themselves.
But the laying on of
the hands, is nothing more than a public recognition, of something that someone
possesses.
What do you receive
when you graduate from a school or university?
A diploma.
That is the public recognition of your completion of the academic work
they provided.
When you accomplish
something you receive a hug, a pat on the back, a cheerful congratulations, a
trophy, and so forth.
Timothy s ability was
obvious and it was formally recognized by his peers.
However, in the
spiritual realm, God does all of the work and God receives all of the credit.
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