Gifted by God
Exodus 35: He’s filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability, and know-how for making all sorts of things.
Dear old Bazalel, what a man of God he was. He could preach some of the finest sermons, was a true prophet of God. Uh…you say he wasn’t a preacher? Well, then…what a singer and musician, so much talent. What? He couldn’t sing a lick? Well, if he was filled with the Spirit and a great blessing to the people of God, what did he do? You know the answer. This Spirit-filled man of God made things, working with his hands. He was the one God used in the construction of the Tent of Meeting and its furnishings. Why are we so spiritual about gifted teachers, preachers, singers, and musicians and so unspiritual when it comes to gifted craftsmen? Thank God for those piano players and singers…but when the plumbing is in need of repair give me a Spirit-filled plumber (not that there aren’t some singing plumbers out there). This is a good reminder to not only acknowledge the contributions of those who come to church work days, but to also recognize that their gifts and abilities are just as God given as are the pastor’s. And, to remember that those gifts include, not only artists who can do uplifting works of art, but carpenters, air conditioning people, and plumbers who are gifted by God to do his work too. In fact, we could sometimes use a few less “up front” folks and a few more “Bazalels” in the church!
Take Away: God gifts people in a wider variety of ways than we think.