We have been looking at the Gifts of the Spirit for several weeks, and we continue with Healing, Mercy, and Hospitality.

There are times when we pray for someone to be healed. We have no special medical education, yet someone might indeed be healed. Such a happening can only be explained as a gift from God, possibly a Gift of Healing.

While we are blessed with medical technology that often appears miraculous, there are those times when technology doesn’t accomplish what was expected. A person with the Gift of Healing could be a vessel through which wholeness is restored. Once again, God provides what is needed; understanding isn’t necessary.

The Gift of Mercy could go hand in hand with Healing. Mercy is God-given empathy and compassion for someone. No one hated wrongdoing more than Jesus, but no one showed more mercy than Jesus. When the woman caught in adultery was brought to Jesus, He would have been within the law to condemn her, but His compassion and mercy were far greater.

Hospitality is natural for some people. Offering help, taking care of someone’s needs, and making a person feel welcome in your home or church is surely a sign of the gift of Hospitality.

We are blessed to have a God with open hands, who gives us many gifts to help us be the best we can be! May we use his gifts to make our world a better place to live.

About the author: P Rev. Elizabeth L. Nelson is  the priest at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in LaBelle.