Spirtual Gifts

I grew up being taught that the spiritual gifts as described in I Corinthians 12 had "gone away", that they no longer pertained to today's believers.

This is based on I Corinthians 13, the interpretation of which is quite hotly contested within the Church*

* for purposes of this post, "Church" is used to reference all believers who have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour, and not any one actual church or denomination specifically

I was also taught that there were no such thing as spirits or ghosts, other than the Holy Spirit.

Although churches I attended later in my teenage and young adult years did teach that there was an active spiritual world, since it was, you know, mentioned frequently in the Bible.

The first part - the cessation of gifts - I believed firmly until my late twenties.

The second part - about spirits or ghosts... well... there was only one problem with that.

You know, since I had seen* them. Experienced them. Regularly. Since I was a small child.

* see is a relative term, and this is hard to explain, but I don't "see" them with my eyes, it's more a sensing of a presence, but I can see it inside me, and can describe it to you as sure as if I'm seeing it in front of me physically. I know that makes no sense if you haven't experienced it, but... it's the truth.

Quite frankly, I'm a little nervous typing this even now. This topic just isn't discussed within Christian circles. At least none that I've ever been in.

And the rest of the world... well, either they believe in it, or they don't.

I'm not going into detail here about my experiences, but they have continued, throughout my life. They are real. At times they have been corroborated by others who were with me.

So what's the connection between the two?

Well, as I learn more about spiritual gifts, and the possibility that they are indeed still in effect for today's believers, and I reflect on the reality of my experiences with the spiritual world surrounding us, I am beginning to think that perhaps... just maybe... this gift, the "discernment of spirits"... maybe there's a reason for what I can see after all.

You know, other than just to torture me.