At sixteen, I learned an unforgettable lesson stuck in a muddy ditch. Trying to avoid a raccoon, I swerved our family car off the road and got stuck fast. Another vehicle came, attached a chain, and with steady force pulled us back onto solid ground. What struck me then—and still does now—is that the power wasn’t just in the truck, but in the chain. A chain is made of individual links joined together, and it is only as strong as each link. When one link breaks, the whole chain fails.
The apostle Paul uses a similar picture when he speaks about the church. After emphasizing unity and oneness, he turns and says, in effect, “We are one, but each one of us…” The unity of the church is not uniformity. It is a living whole made up of distinct, God-designed parts. Each believer has a role, and the effectiveness of the whole depends on the faithfulness of each part.
That is why spiritual gifts matter. Jesus, in His grace, gives gifts to every believer—not based on merit or skill, but by His sovereign generosity. His victory through death, resurrection, and ascension did not merely secure our salvation; it also empowered our service. Christ is the great gift to the church, and He then gifts the church through His people.
These gifts, whether teaching, service, leadership, mercy, giving, encouragement, or hospitality, etc may seem small on their own. But like a single link in a chain, they find their true value when connected to the whole. When a gift is neglected or unused, the church is weakened. When gifts are activated, the church grows in maturity, unity, and love.
Every person matters. Every gift has value. God’s design for the church is that, as each part does its work, the whole body is built up—for the good of the church and for the glory of God. Let me encourage you to consider how you can use your “link” - your gift. Here is a Spiritual Gift Test that may help you, but he best way is to just get active in the church, volunteering and working at establishing meaningful relationships. God always sees to empowering His people in the right ways when we follow His Word.