The Greatest of These

I sat at my kitchen window this week watching the sun slip below the horizon of the pond, splashing brilliant colors of orange and red and purple across the water. The breeze gently danced in the Bradford pear trees all dressed up like little girls in their Easter dresses full of white lace and frills. The beauty thrilled my heart- softened it, if you may, to hear the whisper of the Holy Spirit. It fell over me from head to toe. That gentle warmth of His presence and the belonging to His heart that comes with it. I am constantly amazed that He chooses me. Little insignificant, nobody, full of shortcomings, never quite making the mark—me. He chooses me. Chooses to love me. To speak to my heart. To call me His. To even use me. He chooses me—to be His and to touch the world for Him through the gift of love.

And I remembered. I remembered the snowy day 37 years ago when God taught me about gifts and how He choses all of us to be a part of His reaching a hurting world —how sometimes His greatest gift is found in the most unexpected people.

It was a frigid day when six of us piled into Randy’s VW van to trek into the snow-covered Smoky Mountains. We were new believers—full of adventure and limitless faith—not yet tested and wounded by the journey—fresh and new.

 Tom, the preacher/prophet of the group started looking around at the circle of friends. “Wow, what gifts we have here in this van,” he pontificated. “Christa (who was studying to be a teacher) you have the gift of teaching. God is really going to use you in a mighty way to help others understand Jesus. Randy (who had memorized a multitude of scripture— including the whole book of Colossians) you have the gift of the Word. God is going to use you in a mighty way to share just the right verse at just the right time. Sharon, ( a friend from college) you have the gift of wisdom—God is going use you in a mighty way to counsel your brothers and sisters. He continued, until he made his way to the last one—Kathy, who sat looking at Tom expectantly. “Kathy. Um, Kathy. Let’s see, Kathy—well, I’m not sure what your gift is. Hmmmm. Let me think. Kathy. Lord, what is Kathy’s gift?”

By this time her face was pinking up and all could see she was more than a little uncomfortable. Kathy was never an “out front” kind of person. There was nothing that made her stand out. She could be found packing the cooler with drinks for everyone or checking the map for directions. She remembered to bring a first aid kit and often tucked encouraging verses or notes into our back packs. No one noticed her a lot, but if she hadn’t been there everyone would find that they missed her. I could feel embarrassment coil around her heart like a python seeking its prey. “Well,” he stumbled, “I guess—I guess you have the gift of, of Love.” It was obvious that Tom felt he was just throwing something out so Kathy was not left hanging. My heart deflated. Tom is one of the most gifted preachers I know, and at that time in our journey, those “platform ministry” gifts were the ones to be desired- the “real” gifts. If you could teach, preach, give words of wisdom, speak the Word—you would be used mightily. But there were those  who were ordinary among us, not particularly gifted. Even so— maybe they could love. No words of how God was going to use Kathy mightily followed. I saw her breath a ragged sigh of relief as the attention rolled away from her lack of anything wonderful.

The awkwardness of that moment was soon forgotten as the group of twenty somethings continued our quest for adventure—sliding down snow hills and pulling into a park for a snowball fight. The scene in the van continued to lay heavy on my heart. The message seemed to be that to really count you needed a pulpit worthy gift.

Laying in my bed that night the day’s events ran through my mind. I began to pray. “Father, why couldn’t You give Kathy a gift too? Why is she left in the shadows of the others? Christa is a teacher. Tom is a preacher. Randy can share the Word. Even Sharon has a gift of wisdom. Others could sing or plan big events.  But Kathy?  She seemed to have missed out when You gifted our group. Tom had to reach for something. I want Kathy to have a gift too. Love? Everyone can love.”

Ever so gently the Holy Spirit began to play scenes of the day back to me in slow motion. Kathy pulling Christa behind a bush when she was blinded by pummeling snowballs. Kathy smiling at Tom preaching to the wind and telling him how powerful his preaching was while the others laughed at his making a spectacle of himself. Kathy holding scripture cards and listening to Randy quote one passage after another, gently correcting when he made a mistake, and telling him how amazing it was that he had so much memorized. Kathy listening to Sharon share about how she never fit in and seeing her arms embrace the teary girl as she told Sharon she had a place with us- that we truly loved her.  Kathy asking me about school and my plans for the future and really listening as if I was the most important person in the world.

Then I began to understand. Preachers must preach. Teachers must teach. The word must be shared. Wisdom is so needed to guide us. But love is the glue that holds it all together. More than that, love is the fuel that is vital for every other gift to matter—to work.

His word came to my heart like a beautiful melody:

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. I Corinthians 13:7-8; 13

I saw Kathy in my mind as she sat in the van smiling and nodding awhile her friends basked in Tom’s acknowledgement of their wonderful gifts—rejoicing in their success. I saw her as she went through the day unacknowledged, handing out cups of the cool water of God’s love to each of the team who stood in front of the crowds ministering. And when I saw her, I saw Jesus. Yes, that was her gift. Kathy loved and with that love gave us the tangible presence of Jesus. Tom had hit the nail on the head.

And the gift of having Kathy as a part of our circle poured warm oil and sweet wine over each of us, because she had the greatest gift of all.