DID JESUS PLAY WITH BUILDING BLOCKS? PART 3

The Spiritual Gift of Craftsmanship

In my previous post, I discussed the challenges of connecting technology-oriented children to God's word. In this post, I’ll discuss the spiritual gift of craftsmanship and how you can tell if your child may be gifted in this direction.

The first step is to understand that craftsmanship is a spiritual gift. In multiple passages, God empowers people to do amazing things with the technology of the day.

“You shall speak to all the skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill, that they make Aaron's garments to consecrate him for my priesthood. 4 These are the garments that they shall make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a coat of checker work, a turban, and a sash. They shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons to serve me as priests. 5 They shall receive gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen.”

- Exodus 28:3 New King James Version (ESV)

With this gift, they were able to develop detailed designs for the Ark, Tabernacle, and Temple.

They persevered to build great things over many years; much of the Old Testament focuses on things built by the Israelites. For example, Genesis 6 indicates that it took Noah and his sons decades to build the Ark.

This gift was not limited to designing buildings and major structures; they were skilled with all kinds of tools to make the many different types of things documented about the temple.

 The things they built often improved the efficiency of others, and the craftsmen and women of the bible found joy in meeting the needs of others. Dorcas from Acts chapter nine was beloved for meeting the needs of others.

The rest of the series will focus on ways to help your children connect with this gift.  As you evaluate if God has given them this gifting consider what they gravitate towards.

Do they enjoy working with raw materials (wood, glass, wiring, plumbing etc…)?

Do they take great satisfaction in increasing the effectiveness of others’ ministries?

Do they prefer serving with their hands to meet tangible needs?

Do they often design or plan for tangible things others might want or need?

Do they enjoy mastering new tools or skills with their hands?

To better understand how these gifts might be used, look at ministries your church may have that are highly focused on craftsmanship.  These opportunities could include:

• AV/Lighting Team

• Set Designs

• Grounds Maintenance

• Event setup/tear down

• Missions projects focused on building

Exposing your child to the concept that these are areas they might be able to serve can help determine if this is their gifting area. 

In my next blog post, I’ll discuss ways to start engaging your child’s gifting with examples from God’s word about designing before building.