One of the major benefits of spiritual maturity is the recognition of your spiritual gift. Can you imagine what it feels like to KNOW that you are using the gift God gave you to bring glory to God? Look what Peter says:

1 Peter 4:10-11

10 As each one has received a special gift, ….

Gift is the Greek word CHARISMA, a close relative of the word for grace (CHARIS). Every believer, including you, has received a gift from the grace of God, to benefit both the universal church (Body of Christ or all believers) and a local church.

What are you to do with it?

10 As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

We are to employ that gift in the service of one another. That’s how you be good stewards!

Stewards – OIKONOMOS – administrator, steward. It refers to someone who takes care of the master’s household, like a treasurer.

** When the Christian identifies and employs what the Lord has given him for the benefit of fellow believers, he is maximizing his stewardship of the grace of God.

Your service is to one another, like you were doing it to Christ.

Colossians 3:23-24

23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, (heartily – from the soul – it refers to correct motivation) as for the Lord rather than for men,

24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.

Back to 1 Pet 4:

11 Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Notice it all goes back to the power of God. It’s His words; it’s His strength. He’s the one who gave you the gift. Why should you get any credit for it? The end result is that God gets all the glory!

One of my favorite verses is one where Paul talks about his communication gift. It applies just as much to all other spiritual gifts, as well.

1 Thessalonians 2:13

13 For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.

As you reach maturity, you will recognize the spiritual gift that God has given you, and you will watch it function in your life for the glory of God.