Reflection of the Week - 27th August 2024

By Henry Nouwen

Posted Aug 27, 2024 in Faith

Our Gifts Are Not the Same As Our Talents

More important than our talents are our gifts. We may have only a few talents, but we have many gifts. Our gifts are the many ways in which we express our humanity. They are part of who we are: friendship, kindness, patience, joy, peace, forgiveness, gentleness, love, hope, trust, and many others. These are the true gifts we have to offer to each other.

Somehow, I have known this for a long time, especially through my personal experience of the enormous healing power of these gifts. But since my coming to live in a community with mentally handicapped people, I have rediscovered this simple truth. Few, if any, of those people have talents they can boast of. Few are able to make contributions to our society that allow them to earn money, compete on the open market, or win awards. But how splendid are their gifts! ‘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)

Reference

Henri Nouwen - Our Gifts Are Not The Same As Our Talents - Henri Nouwen.

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