Gifts of the Spirit
We really love to be assured of our ‘status’. This is the impetus to mark off our
accomplishments (or sins) against a list – Yes to generosity, No to gossip.
But St Paul truly understood God’s generosity, he wrote that everyone gets their
share and he understood God’s wisdom, that the gifts are not for our benefit (spiritual or otherwise)
but for the good of everyone. Mary Sumner wasn’t making a list or appraising her status when she prayed,
but simply acknowledging the power of the Spirit and her role as its vessel.
All this day, O Lord, let me touch as many lives as possible for Thee;
and every live I touch, do Thou by Thy Spirit quicken,
whether through the word I speak, the prayer I breathe, or the life I live. Amen.
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services,
but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities,
but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.
To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
1 Corinthians 12: 4-7
A variety of gifts are working in Mothers’ Union in Tanzania.
In 2022 it is extending to the already successful Credit & Savings group
by working in partnership with Tearfund to help realise the Anglican Church of Tanzania’s
vision of spiritual and socio-economic transformation across the country. Thanks be to God.