Spirtiual Gifts

i've been attending my church's new member class for a few weeks (i just completed it!!) and one of our projects was to take a spiritual gifts test. i was pretty excited cause i have no clue what my spiritual gift is. Ok, let me back up a bit.

What is a spiritual gift? Well, my pastor described a spiritual gift as something the Holy Spirit equips us with the moment we become Christians. It's purpose is to help us fulfill God's plan for us, and to bring glory to Him. It can be a 'new' gift, something we've never been good at, or tried, or it can be something we're already good at that is strengthened. Also, our gift doesn't just happen right away, it has to be matured, or cultivated. As we show we're responsible in small things, God trusts us with more complex things. Its the same with our gift, the more we use it to glorify God, the stronger it gets.

Anyway, i had to take a spiritual gifts test to see what mine might be. (This test isn't conclusive, its just a way to see where to start looking) Here are my 3 highest scores:

14- Helps: Serving/Hospitality
"These individuals make people feel at home and comfortable in new situations. Whether they are opening their homes to guest or welcoming new faces into the local body of believers. These men and women have a friendly smile and a helping hand for everyone." Ok, i could have told you i'd be good at this one, i Love having people over and making people feel welcome :) This one totally fits me, though i do need to practice it more. i sometimes get stuck in "my little world" and forget to be nice to new people.

13- Mercy
"These individuals empathize with others, feeling compassion and a desire to help. They are able to help with the grieving process or acclimate individuals to a new environment." Ok....That sounds kinda like stuff i'm good at, certainly "help with the grieving process" fits, but the general idea of Mercy doesn't fit me. i'm not very forgiving, if you cross me, or worse my friends, prepare to die!! jk. But seriously, im not merciful. i hold grudges, i don't forgive easily. Most of the time if you hurt me, i don't let it get to me. i'm strong enough to just let it slide off. But if you do manage to hurt me, or far worse a friend, the claws come out. i mostly ignore whoever hurts me, and make sure thier name is mud in the community. i don't lie, i tell it exactly like it is, which is usually worse than something i could make up. People are pretty terrible sometimes, and i have no patience for them. So i kinda wonder why i got this answer, if really doesn't fit.

13- Faith
"Those with the gift of faith have a deep conviction and belief in the truth of the Word of God. These individuals believe God in the face of extraordinary circumstances and inspire those around them to deeper relationships with him." Hmmm... i think this is kinda cheating. i mean, we're all supposed to have deep faith and conviction from the Bible, right? The "believe God in the face of extraordinary circumstances" part applies to me, i guess. but not the "inspire those around them to deeper relationships" part. if i'm struggling with something, even if it draws me closer to God, no one really notices. i'm kinda torn on this one, some of it fits, but not all.

So those are my results! What do you think? Accurate, or completely wrong? What about you? Do you know what your gift is??