A Daisy Red Ryder

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. (Romans 12:3-8 ESV). Do you remember the movie “The Christmas Story”? I have watched it many times. It is the story of Ralphie Parker and his dream of having a Daisy Red Ryder BB Gun. You can actually see the “official Red Ryder carbine action, 200-shot, range model air rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing that tells time” that Ralphie Parker pines over and eventually receives in the museum of the Christmas Story in Cleveland, Ohio. While the Red Ryder is an actual air rifle that has been in the hands of youngsters for over 75 years. It was first manufactured by Winchester and marketed in 1940. I remember mine vividly. Daddy had purchased it secretively since my mother didn’t want me to have anything to do with a gun of any kind. Dads and Moms are often like that. At any rate, he came into my room one day near my birthday and handed me a box, which was unusual enough. When I opened it, I saw the dream of every young boy of my age. Just like Ralphie, I had my first BB gun. He taught me how to shoot it safely and I was the terror of the woods! It was a very special gift. Well, when you become a Christian you get a very special gift from God. It is not, however, a gift to use just for yourself; it’s to share with others in the church. In Paul’s longest passage on spiritual gifts he writes: “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:7). The gifts Paul describes briefly in our reading today are those given to help the church function as a body. Some receive the gift of preaching God’s Word (that’s the basic meaning of “prophecy”), others the gift of serving in the church, of teaching, of counseling, of giving, of leading, or of showing compassion. They are special and essential to the health of the body of Christ. I encourage you to discover your gift and use it to build up those around you.