Have you ever seen a toddler who didn’t get her way? She pouts. She cries. She stomps her dainty, little foot and crosses her short, chubby arms. Her bottom lip shoots out, and she has no problem letting you know what she’s thinking. Sometimes, she even throws herself upon the floor and kicks and screams. (If you’ve ever wondered about the veracity of the sin nature, look no further than a toddler!)

“And He spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

What are spiritual gifts? What purpose do they serve? What are we, as believers, called to do with them? These are questions that many (if not all) believers have had to work through before. Spiritual gifts can be a hot topic in our culture today because there are such differing views on them. It is not uncommon to find believers fighting within and without the church over the various issues relating to them, and there are a couple things that I want to address in our discussion about spiritual gifts.

Do you remember the early days of motherhood? Not the exhausted, desperate, trying-to-understand-your-baby days, but the first time you truly realized the blessings of motherhood. Perhaps it was as you watched your baby sleep, you recognized the gift you had been given. Maybe it was her first slobbery kiss on your cheek, his first steps into your waiting arms, or the first time you heard “mama” from tiny lips. Maybe it didn’t hit you until later in your journey—a milestone birthday, the much sought after driver’s license, a first date, graduation, or some other achievement. But all mothers eventually get it.