1 Timothy 4:12-14

Do not neglect the gift that is in you (1Timothy  4:14)

A few years ago, I had the wonderful opportunity to personally thank my 5^th grade teacher, Miss Koran. You see, that was an important and transformative year for me. Fourth grade was tough. My teacher that year told my parents that I’d never amount to much. I struggled when it came to reading, and was feeling pretty down on myself. Not only that, when I entered the 5^th grade, I was a pudgy kid who had just gotten his first pair of glasses. Get the picture? 

It just so happens that 5^th grade was the year that we did some standardized IQ testing. When the results came back, Miss Koran saw some potential in me. I’ll never forget the day that she sat down with me and my classmate Vince and said to us, “Guys, you’ve got noodle power!” I knew Vince was a smart kid. He skipped the 2^nd grade! But me? It was as if something lit up inside me and changed my whole perspective on school. I could do this school thing! Thus began a love of learning and teaching.

Paul encourages young Timothy to not neglect the gift that is in him. Don’t let it go to waste! God graces all of us with a unique set of gifts that we are called to discover and to use. What gift is in you that is waiting to blossom? Is there a gift that you see in someone else? Don't waste the opportunity to tell them!

 1Timothy 4:12-14 NRSV

 12 Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.
 13 Until I arrive, give attention to the public reading of scripture, to exhorting, to teaching.
 14 Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you through prophecy with the laying on of hands by the council of elders.