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Last night at a district gathering, we reflected on these questions:
Do you think you’ve reached your full potential in your life? What more potential do you think there is to be realized?
We had a wonderful discussion on those questions. I think they’re important for all of us to reflect on.
One dictionary defines potential as existing in possibility.
I believe that in everyone, there exists so much possibility. It is lying there dormant, latent, waiting to be activated and realized. It doesn’t matter how young or old you are – there exists so much possibility.
So the important question is: how can you realize your potential?
The world often measures potential by achievement.
We admire people who have achieved the highest levels: Recently watched show on Netflix – FunnyAF, hosted by Kevin Hart – trying to find the next great comedian. Require talent, but takes hard work, dedication and determination. Winner (Ron Wilson) was homeless, lived out of car.
But it’s not just those who have achieved the very highest levels.
Many of you have achieved so much: you worked hard, made a good life for yourself and your families, you’ve raised your children and given them a good foundation. You should be proud of yourselves. In that way, you’ve lived out a lot of your potential.
The apostle Paul, however, had a very different view of potential.
He never spoke about achievements. Instead, he saw a much deeper dimension of who we are. He saw the spiritual side of human beings.
Human beings are physical AND spiritual creatures. God created both sides of us, but it was the spiritual side that was created in the image of God. God is Spirit, so it was the spiritual side of us created in the image of God. That’s the part of us that connects with God.
To reach our full potential, then, our spiritual side has to be fully developed. That is when we will be fully who we’re meant to be.
Paul saw in each person God-given spiritual gifts. They are given by God – planted like a seed in each person. That seed lies there, full of possibility.
For Paul, our true potential is realized when these spiritual gifts come alive.
There are big differences between worldly and spiritual potential.
Worldly potential is achieved by your own efforts. But spiritual gifts are not achieved by your effort – it is GOD who activates these gifts.
All these (spiritual gifts) are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses. (1 Corinthians 12:11)
In the world, you decide which skills and abilities to focus on. Let’s be honest: parents often try to steer their kids to develop abilities that will be marketable and in demand.
But you don’t decide which spiritual gifts you have. It is God who chooses and activates these spiritual gifts in you. It’s a mystery as to what they are. It’s kind of like a Kinder Egg that kids love – you don’t know what spiritual gifts lie inside of you until God activates them!
Most human achievements are visible. Your success is evident and visible to others.
But spiritual gifts are very different. They’re usually not visible or evident. They don’t reveal themselves by your effort.
And unlike worldly potential, you can’t develop spiritual potential on your own. Spiritual gifts manifest when you are working with others for the common good.
To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. (1 Corinthians 12:7)
It’s when you’re working with others toward the common good that God activates spiritual gifts in you.
Most of the time you don’t even realize they are at work. It happens unconsciously. But somehow, the gifts are activated so that the common good is enhanced.
The Greek word for gifts is “charismata”. It means “gifts of grace”.
Spiritual gifts are gifts of God’s grace manifesting in a unique way through you. It’s like your spirit merging with God’s Spirit to create a chemical reaction. The result is something amazing: it is a unique manifestation of God’s grace through you – a great fusion of God and you.
This is what happens in the Church. When everyone is working for the common good, each person manifests the Spirit in different ways. The Spirit then brings all of these different and diverse manifestations into beautiful harmony so that everyone is enriched and blessed.
For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:13)
For Paul, this was the mystery and beauty of the Church.
It is as you serve and work together that the Spirit brings out these gifts. And together they build up the community.
There is often one big misconception in the Church: I need to have skills from the world to bring into the Church. If I don’t have that, then I don’t have anything to give.
That is the biggest misunderstanding of the Church. It makes people who are not as “successful” in the world feel less confident in the Church. It makes people who are successful in the world think that’s what they’re good for, and spiritual gifts can remain buried.
In the world, yes, you need to have skills that are needed. Boards of Directors – recruited for the skills you bring in.
The most important thing in the Church is your willing heart. A heart that is here to worship God together with others. A heart willing to serve. A heart that is engaged and present.
(Of course, it helps when skills in the world are used with the right heart of giving – Mack and Grace at the Mission Dinner)
But it is the Spirit who activates and brings out the gifts that God has planted in you. You don’t have to worry about what skills or gifts you have. You simply present yourself to God in worship and service.
The Church flourishes when all of these diverse gifts are brought together by the Spirit. The Spirit activates them, the Spirit brings them together.
So when you are together with the Church, working in harmony with others, the Spirit takes you to your full potential beyond your wildest imagination.
That is what Jesus promised to the disciples.
Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these… (John 14:12)
The disciples were not seen by the world to have any potential. But Jesus saw the potential in them – their spiritual potential.
The Holy Spirit came upon them at Pentecost and ignited their spiritual gifts.
When the Holy Spirit activated their gifts, they went far beyond what Jesus did. They fulfilled what Jesus had promised:
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8)
These simple fishermen went far beyond their imagination. They lived out their full potential. That’s why we’re here today.
Today is Pentecost – the day the Holy Spirit came upon the followers of Jesus. It is the day when the Church was born. So Pentecost is the Church’s birthday.
What the Spirit began, the Spirit continues today. We are part of the Spirit’s continuing work.
The Church is a beautiful gift and beautiful place. There is no other place in the world like it. To be part of the Church is to be part of something bigger than yourself – part of God’s desire and love for the world.
Paul had a beautiful image of the Church.
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. (1 Corinthians 14:12)
The Body of Christ. A place where all different parts of the body work together. And they work together as the Spirit activates all the variety of gifts and brings them together in harmony.
I would like to add another image for the Church: it is an incubator of reaching your full potential as a human being. As you worship, as you serve, the Spirit activates and ignites gifts within you, and you reach your full potential as a human being.
But it is not an easy time to be the Church right now. The greatest obstacle to the church right now is commitment and consistency – or the lack thereof.
Committing consistently to anything beyond yourself or your family is so difficult nowadays. There are so many demands for your time and attention. People are tired. The easiest thing to do is just focus on yourself and your family.
On top of that, we live in a world of choice and convenience. It has never been easier to pick and choose what you commit to and to opt out if you don’t feel like it.
It is so hard to commit to the Church and be consistent.
For the Spirit to take root, there needs to be commitment and consistency. The Church only thrives when there is commitment and consistency. That’s how you reach your full potential.
Being the Church – being committed and consistent to it – is deeply countercultural. To be the Church today goes against the way our world is.
This world is a hard place to reach your full potential. I really believe that’s why even lots of successful people are unhappy – because they may have achieved worldly success, but they have not reached their spiritual potential. I believe that is the only thing that ultimately gives true joy.
To be the Church today, we need to commit consistently to three practices:
- Attending Worship in person
- Engaging in the life of the church
- Participating in Mission
Engage in these three practices – make them a consistent part of your life. You will be shaped in a different way than when you’re in the world.
Without realizing it, the Spirit will activate and bring out all of the gifts in you. In a miraculous way, you will live out your potential and live the best life you can live.
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