Understanding Galatians 2: Spiritual Gifts
“In fact, James, Peter, and John, who were known as pillars of the church, recognized the gift God had given me, and they accepted Barnabas and me as their co-workers. They encouraged us to keep preaching to the Gentiles, while they continued their work with the Jews. Their only suggestion was that we keep on helping the poor, which I have always been eager to do.” Galatians 2:9-10
As an athlete, you may have heard someone tell you, “You have amazing talent,” or maybe “You have such an incredible gift!” As Christian athletes, we know that the opportunity to play sports, our talent, and the joy we find in the game is a gift from God because He is the One who created us, and created sports—so He deserves all of the glory.
You may not even know it, but God has given you a gift, aside from the gift of being able to play sports, God has given us spiritual gifts. A spiritual gift is given only to us by God, and its purpose is to bring glory to God and build up the body of Christ. Some spiritual gifts can include the gift of wisdom, administration, discernment, evangelism, encouragement, hospitality, leadership, and more. As a Christian and an athlete, God has given you special spiritual gifts to represent Jesus well to others. It is important, that through prayer, we know and understand our spiritual gifts so that we can strengthen them throughout our lives.
God has given you the gifts of sports, and He has given you specific spiritual gifts as well. As the body of Christ, we can encourage one another in our spiritual gifts to sharpen one another to make our faith stronger.
- Can you remember a time when someone told you that you have a special gift; what did this mean to you?
- Do you know what your spiritual gifts are?
- How can you use your specific spiritual gifts as an athlete or on your team?
Romans 12:6-8; 1 Peter 4:10
“Lord, thank You for giving me the gifts of playing my sport. Help me to know and understand the spiritual gifts You have given me so that I may strengthen the Kingdom of God and bring glory to You.”
