One of the “big” questions kids have about life and faith is what God created them to do. They are curious whether or not God gave them gifts or talents. They want to know what those gifts or talents might be and how they can discover them. They wonder how God wants them to use their talents to serve Him.
They probably can’t articulate those questions quite yet, but they are there waiting to be explored. Some children learn quickly that they have a special talent for art or music or that they are gifted with extra intelligence or athletic ability.
For other children, their gifts may not be quite as obvious to themselves or the adults around them. As they begin hearing Christians talk about gifts, they may silently wonder if God forgot them. Children who struggle in school or have special needs may actually begin to believe God indeed forgot to give them any gifts or talents.
The truth though is found in an Old Testament story and a couple of parables in the New Testament. In Exodus 31, we see God giving people gifts to help them build the Tabernacle. It appears God may have enhanced talents He had already given some of them, while others may have received these talents for the first time.
In the New Testament parables of the talents and the minas (Matthew 25 and Luke 19), we see a master giving varying amounts of gifts to care for in his absence. In both parables, some of the servants use these gifts wisely and return to the master more than he gave them. In each parable, one servant did nothing with the gift he was given. When the master returned, the servant was chastised for not using the gift and it was taken from him.
Most Christians believe the talents and minas represent the gifts God gives us. While everyone receives at least one gift, the distribution is unequal. God’s expectation, however, is that everyone will use any gift He gives them wisely.
Your children will have a difficult time using their gifts from God wisely, if they never discover them. They will need your help in exploring possible areas of giftedness. Some of your children may have multiple gifts, while others may have one or two.
Don’t be concerned about the number of gifts or talents each child has been given. Rather focus on helping them discover all of the gifts God has given them. This can be more difficult if your children were given gifts that we don’t normally think about when we discuss using our gifts to serve God.
Below you will find a list of some of the many possible gifts your kids may have received from God. Spend time praying about it. Watch your children and look for sparks of these gifts. Ask them their opinions. Give them chances to experiment in these areas to see if there is potential talent.
- Ability to Focus
- Accounting
- Adaptability
- Athletic Ability
- Audio Visual
- Automobile Repair
- Analyzing
- Art
- Asking Questions
- Building
- Computer Coding
- Cooking
- Counseling
- Crafts
- Decorating
- Detail Oriented
- Drama
- Editing
- Emotional Intelligence
- Encouragement
- Enthusiasm
- Faith Sharing
- Fashion/Clothing
- Generosity
- Greeting/Outreach
- Human Resources/Talent Identification in Others
- Humor
- Imagination
- Intelligence
- Juggling
- Listening
- Marketing
- Math
- Medicine
- Mercy
- Music
- Networking
- Organizing
- Photography
- Problem Solving
- Public Speaking
- Research
- Risk Management
- Science
- Self Control
- Service
- Social Media
- Stewardship
- Teaching
- Time Management
- Typing
- Video Production
- Wood Working
- Writing
It may take time to discover all of the gifts God has given your children to serve Him. Don’t stop searching until you have discovered at least one gift from God for each of your children. Tomorrow I will share some creative ways to help your children begin to develop their gifts and find ways to use them to serve God.