Use your gifts wisely

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” 1 Peter 4:10 NIV

On January 26, Runner’s World Magazine published an article about Nathan Martin, a 32-year-old runner who burst onto the elite running scene in 2020. Heading into the Marathon Project on December 20, 2020, Nathan Martin hoped to run a time that would help him more easily get into the elite fields of bigger races, allowing him to face better competition. However, the Michigan native didn’t expect that his result would launch a new chapter in his running career. Martin crossed the finish line of the Marathon Project in 2:11:05, ninth overall... In the process of meeting his goal, Martin—who, at the time of the race, was unsponsored and working as a high school cross-country coach and substitute teacher—said he was shocked by the positive response that followed the performance, which transcended his personal achievement. Receiving congratulatory messages on social media, particularly from Black kids, helped the 32-year-old to see the greater significance of his time. In the year since breaking the record, Martin has signed with an agent, signed with a professional sponsor, and raced in the 2021 New York City Marathon, his first World Marathon Major. When given the financial opportunity, many elites would choose to make professional running their main focus. Instead, Martin has continued to coach and teach—spending long hours in the classroom, followed by the team’s practice and his own marathon training—all with the goal of helping others reach their full potential. And he wouldn’t have it any other way. Do you just love that or what?

And you know, while most of us aren’t talented enough to ever become a ‘professional runner,’ we all have God-given talents that are to be used “to serve others.” You see, while the temptation to use our gifts to receive fame and/or compensation is great, we would do well to remember that only what we do for God will matter in the end. Medals will rust, records will be broken, and the name of every champion will one day be forgotten. But what we do for others “as faithful stewards of God’s grace” will last forever—both by the ripple effect our actions cause and by those who will come to know Jesus because of our words and/or deeds.

So always remember that your gifts and talents come from Jesus my friend. Be a good steward of those gifts by serving others to the absolute best of your ability. After all, using them for any other purpose will have no lasting value.

Heavenly Father, thank You for giving each one of us a unique gift or talent to be used to bring You glory by leading others to the foot of the Cross. Help us to be Kingdom-minded in all our pursuits Lord that we would use our talents for only those things that will point the lost to You. It’s in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen.

Happy Running!!!