Saturday, January 14, 2006

The Gifted by Terri Blackstock

This is the second Terri Blackstock novella I have read recently. This one is connected to "The Listener" by it's theme. In "The Listener", one person received a supernatural gift from God. In "The Gifted" it is three people who are blessed.

At the start of the story, three Christians are trying to start a Bible study at work. They are attempting to reach the unsaved. No one else shows up. They discover that none of them really promoted the study to their non-Christian coworkers. This is followed by a massive earthquake. All three are injured(one is blinded, one has his legs crushed, the other has the inside of his throat burned). They all start thinking about the things the should have been doing to spread the gospel. The next morning they wake up to find that all have been healed. In addition, God has blessed each of them with a supernatural gift.

The main part of the story follows them as they work together using the new gifts God has given them. Many lives are changed as they apply their gifts. My favorite part is the last chapter. The whole message about the body of Christ working together, even if you don not have a supernatural gift, is one that all Christians need to remember. At times it is easy to forget that everything we do is for God. And that non-Christians could be watching and making decisions about Christ based on what you are doing.

Terri Blackstock lived in a section of Mississippi that lost power for 5 days during hurricane Katrina. That storm showed the bad side of people(looting and robbing) but it also showed the good in people. Many have sent help and money to aid those who suffered through the storm. This gives the church another opportunity to show the world how Christ calls us to use our gifts to help the kingdom. It is similar to what she wrote in this book.

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