The 90s had some great shows. Especially in the area of superheroes. One of my favorites was the X-men. Disney plus has recently rebooted and continued the series with X-men 97. What makes the X-men animated series so intriguing are the characters. The characters are what moves the story forward. Each X-men has their own unique gift that they have acquired through being born with the X-gene. What is interesting is that this X-gene has affected every mutant differently – some better than others. For example, the leader of the X-men, Cyclops, has the power to shoot red concussion blasts from his eyes. The only problem is that the power cannot be controlled unless is wearing ruby crystal glasses or his visor to hold the blast at bay. Beast, although a genius and very powerful, looks like a blue gorilla. So there is not much blending in for him at Starbucks. Some X-men see the X-gene has being born with a curse, others see it as being born with a gift. The Christian can relate to this for we are born under a curse, but we are reborn with the gift(s) of the Holy Spirit. What do I mean by that? Let’s dive into what curses all humankind is born into and then we will see what gifts God promises those that believe in Him and allow his Holy Spirit to work in their lives.
The Curse
In the book of Genesis, we read a story about Adam and Eve. They are created by God to love and serve each other and love and obey God. They are placed in the Garden of Eden where all their desires and needs are met without worry. One day a serpent speaks to Eve and tempts her to disobey God by eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He does this by compelling her to believe the lie that God may not have her best interest in mind. So in order to take control of that doubt she has in God, she chooses to disobey God by eating the fruit from the forbidden tree and giving some to her husband Adam who also disobeys God and eats the fruit. Let’s not look at this as if God is against us acquiring knowledge. That is not what is being communicated here as the disobedient act. The disobedient act experitential evil, that is evil that one partakes in because even though deep down they know it is evil, they doubt their conscience God has given them, and experiment with evil anyways. That act is a sign to God saying “I don’t trust you, I am going to do this my way!” Thus begins the fall of man.
We are all born with a heart bent toward evil. Our parents did not teach us to lie or steal, but somewhere down the road we discovered that lying and stealing can be ways we can get what we want in an easier way. Another way that we are bent toward evil is in our sexuality. I was born with a sex drive to want to have sex with as many beautiful women as I can. There are those that were born with a desire to have sex with people that are of the same sex. Or what about diet? I was born with the desire to eat cake and steak everyday because it tastes good. The common theme that we can get from all of these unhealthy desires is that they are a perversion of gifts from God. Sex is a gift. Food is a gift. Being able to earn money is a gift. All of these are gifts from God. What sin does is that it takes those gifts from God and twists them. And either my flesh, Satan, or the world tempts me into thinking that these twisted gifts are actually not twisted at all, but upgrades to the original gifts. Our world says “sex with one person within the context of a marriage between one man and one woman is limited and boring.” God says that sex is to be enjoyed in this context and when it is, the married couple experience an amazing companionship and closeness with one another that is physically and spiritually satisfying. I have heard it put this way – “we are all sexually disoriented until Jesus comes into life and orients us in the right direction.” That is so true! But how does he do that? The desires are strong to go against God’s way. Enter, the Holy Spirit.
The Gifts
When we accept Christ into our lives and make him Lord of all, we are inviting him to make renovations in our heart. At first there is some demolition. God will want us to take things out of our life that has not been good for us and for others. That can be something like giving up a bad habit or it could be forgiving someone that hurt you. Whatever it is, God wants to help us put things in proper order in our lives and he does this through his Holy Spirit drawing us to repent, that is turn from our sin, and then follow Him. In following Him, He does not leave us empty of all those things. Let’s be honest, drinking, sex, drugs, those are all real fun things. But God promises something better – His Holy Spirit dwelling in your heart to help you be a better person for yourself, family, and others. More than that, He gives you as an individual a special gift that you can use to love and serve others with. Let’s call in your X-gene. Paul writes about these gifts in 1 Corinthians 12, they include:
Wisdom – To have soundness in thinking, insight, and commons sense.
Knowledge – To have facts, skills, education through experience.
Faith – To have the ability to trust based on evidence of trustworthiness.
Healing – To have the ability to build someone else up physically, emotionally, spiritually, etc…
Miracles – To have the ability to participate with God altering the natural order of things.
Prophesy – To have the ability to be the mouth-piece of God and direct people to follow His ways.
Discernment – To have the ability to tell things apart accurately.
Tongues – To have the ability to speak another language to reveal who God is.
Interpretation – to have the ability to explain the languages.
Now I don’t have the time to go over each of these gifts. Some of these gifts, all Christians are to have, such as faith. But I think what Paul is getting at is that there are those that are especially gifted in one or two of these gifts in such a special way that they are to capitalize on their gifts so that they can introduce people to Jesus in ways that no one else could do. If you believe in Jesus, and you have allowed his Holy Spirit to move in your life and take out some trash in your heart, He wants to give you something in its place. He wants to give you a special way to reach others. He wants to give you purpose. He wants to make you a servant. I have heard it said this way – “the heart beats best when it beats for others.” God wants to bless you with purpose and fulfillment. Life is not about satisfying your nerve endings through partying and pleasures. The most satisfying thing in life is when we look to satisfy the needs of others. You will get no greater joy from following Christ and allowing his Holy Spirit to work in your life. And so with that said, to all the readers I say – “To Jesus, my friends!”