Using Your Gifts to Serve This Christmas

“Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve others, as good stewards of the varied grace of God.” – 1 Peter 4:10

As great as the Christmas season is, it does have a way of highlighting what we don’t have. The relentless advertisements, the social media showcases, the pressure to create picture-perfect moments— it’s easy to feel inadequate. But 1 Peter 4:10 offers a radically different perspective. You already have everything you need to make this Christmas meaningful and special. You have gifts, and those gifts aren’t meant to sit idle. They’re meant to be poured out in service to others.

Use Your Gifts to Serve Others

The word “steward” in this verse is crucial. A steward doesn’t own what they manage; they’re entrusted with it. Your gifts—whether they’re talents like cooking or organizing, resources like time or money, or qualities like encouragement or hospitality—aren’t ultimately yours. They’re God’s grace taking different forms in your life, and He’s asking you to manage them well by giving them away.

This Christmas, what if we shifted our focus from accumulating more to activating what we already have to help others? What if instead of stressing about what we can afford to buy, we asked what we’re equipped to give? The beauty of serving with our gifts is that it’s never one-size-fits-all. The introvert who writes thoughtful cards is serving just as significantly as the extrovert who throws the neighborhood party. The teenager who babysits so parents can have a date night is being as faithful a steward as the retiree who volunteers at the food bank.

When we serve others with our gifts, something profound happens. We become conduits of God’s grace. We participate in the very heartbeat of Christmas—a God who didn’t withhold His greatest gift but gave His Son to serve and save us. Our acts of service, no matter how small they seem, echo that divine generosity.

Two Practical Steps

1. Identify and Inventory Take fifteen minutes this week to list three gifts or resources you have (skills, time slots, relationships, space in your home, etc.). Then beside each one, write one specific way you could use it to serve someone before Christmas Be concrete: “I’m good at baking” becomes “I’ll make cookies for my elderly neighbor.”

2. Say Yes Before You’re Ready When an opportunity to serve presents itself this Christmas season—whether it’s helping with a church event, bringing a meal to a struggling family, or simply listening to someone who’s lonely—say yes before your inner voice can list all the reasons you’re too busy or unqualified. Faithful stewardship isn’t about perfection; it’s about availability.

To serve at the Journey to the King Nativity, click here.