There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
– 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 (NIV)
These verses reveal a great truth about the Church, which is the body of Christ: there is great diversity and complexity among the members of the body, but faith and trust in God is shared as a common denominator.
1. We all have different gifts. You have been given a way to contribute to the Church and to society. The best thing you could do for yourself is to discover your God given design. You will find greater peace and contentment, as well as, find greater satisfaction when you begin to function in the way you were designed to give to others.
One of my gifts is teaching. I love to help people discover things they did not previously know and I get super excited when I help someone know the Scriptures or God in a deeper way. I can read for hours and I find pleasure in learning with the hope that I can share something new with others. You are different than me. You need to know how you were designed.
2. We all have different opportunities. We live in a big world with billions of people and the one constant is change. Because there is so much diversity and so many moving parts, you will have opportunities that are unique to you. There are people that you can influence that will never meet or speak with the other hundreds of millions of people that make up the church.
3. We all have different expressions of our gifts. You have different likes and dislikes; you are introverted or extroverted; you have a different family; and you live in a different culture than others who might share your gifting. Because of this, you will present yourself differently than anyone and everyone else. Your greatest strength is to be yourself.
We all have different gifts; we all have different opportunities; and we all have different expressions of our gifts, but we all serve the same God, are led by the same Holy Spirit, and work towards the same Great Commission. We use our differences to connect others to Christ and we surrender our differences for the same reason.
Everyone is unique in the way God has designed them, but equal in their need for God, therefore, all our differences should be surrendered to His glory.