Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
Documentos de Cultura
Romanos 12:3-8
El Inventario The Inventory
Notas Notes
Este estudio está basado en el libro This study is based on the book “Discover Your
«Discover Your God-Given Gifts», God-Given Gifts,” by Don and Katie Fortune.
por Don y Katie Fortune, y las The writer of this booklet has also included his
observaciones personales de quien lo personal observations and conclusions. The
escribe. El inventario que sigue a inventory that follows is a compilation of the
continuación es una compilación de characteristics of each gift according to the
las caracterìsticas de cada don que analysis provided by the Fortunes in their book.
los Fortune analizan en su libro. They are listed in in Romans 12: 6-8.
Estos incluyen la lista completa que
encontramos en Romanos 12:6-8. We understand that the Bible speaks of many
gifts we receive from God. In fact, life itself is a
Entendemos que la Biblia nos habla gift from God. The immense world around us is
de muchos dones o regalos de Dios. also given to us by God. We also have salvation
De hecho, la vida misma es un don de and forgiveness of our sins. The Holy Spirit, which
Dios. El inmenso mundo que nos rodea is like the earnest of the inheritance that God is
también nos lo regala Dios. Además keeping for us, is likewise an immense gift from
tenemos la salvación y el perdón de God. Therefore, when speaking of God’s gifts, we
nuestros pecados. El Éspíritu Santo, must begin by recognizing that God is immensely
que es como las arras de la herencia generous. This way we can better appreciate
que Dios nos tiene guardada, es así the combination of permanent motivational gifts
mismo un regalo inmenso de Dios. Por that God has given each one of us. This will in
eso, al hablar de los dones de Dios, bring us to live intensely the happy experience of
tenemos que empezar por reconocer gratitude.
que Dios es inmensamente generoso.
Así podremos apreciar mejor la In the New Testament we find other lists of gifts.
combinación de dones permanentes que For example in I Corinthians 12: 7-11 there is a
Dios nos da y vivir intensamente la list of nine special gifts that several Christians
feliz experiencia de la gratitud. had in the Corinthian church. These gifts are
different ways in which the Holy Spirit shows
En el Nuevo Testamento encontramos or manifests himself. In other parts of the New
otras listas de dones. Así, por Testament, these gifts are called “signs” (Mark 16:
ejemplo en I Corintios 12:7-11 17-20, Hebrews 2: 1-4). They are wonderful and
hay una lista de nueve regalos extraordinary manifestations of God’s presence
especiales que tenían varios as well as signals of the active implementation of
cristianos en la iglesia de Corinto. his plan to bring forth His new creation.
Estos son diferentes formas en las
que el Espíritu Santo se muestra o As the word “extraordinary” suggests, these gifts
manifiesta. En otras partes del Nuevo are not permanent by nature. At the beginning
Testamento, a estos dones se les of the new era, which was inaugurated by the
llama «señales» (Marcos 16:17-20, resurrection of Jesus, God used many miraculous
Hebreos 2:1-4). Son manifestaciones manifestations that pointed to the otherwise
maravillosas y extraordinarias de invisible reality of his activity in the spiritual
la presencia de Dios y de su plan dimension. These gifts stopped, once they
para la nueva creación que Él tiene fulfilled their purpose as revealing “signs” of what
planeada. Tal como lo sugiere la God began to do through Jesus Christ. (See 1
palabra «extraordinarias» estos dones Corinthians 13: 8). That is why, in Hebrews,
no son permanentes por naturaleza. Al we read that the writer already referred to
comienzo de la nueva era inaugurada these wonders, miracles and gifts, as a past
por la resurrección de Jesús, Dios series of events. The text says that the good
usó muchas manifestaciones milagrosas news about our salvation was first annouced
que apuntaban a la realidad, de otra and then confirmed by God with these
manera invisible, de su actividad miracles and wonders. For this reason, this
en la dimensión del espíritu. Estos study does not include this kind of gifts.
dones estaban destinados a pasar,
una vez clumplido su propósito como Additionally, in Ephesians 4: 11-12, we find
«señales» reveladoras de lo que another list of gifts. However, in this letter
Dios empezó a hacer a través de Paul is talking about certain special people
Jesucristo. (Ver 1 Corintios 13:8). that God has given to his church to equip and
Por eso, en la lectura que hicimos de mature its members. The are the apostles,
Hebreos, vimos que ya el escritor se prohpets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers.
refería a estas maravillas, milagros People functioning in these capacites are gifts
y dones, como una confirmación pasada of God to the church. The apostles and the
y cumplida del anuncia de la buana prophets laid the foundation of the universal
noticia sobre la novedad que Dios church two thousand years ago (Ephesians
había hecho por medio de Jesús. Así 2:20). The evangelists announce the good
pues, en este estudio no se incluyen news about Jesus and his work all over the
estos dones. world. The pastor-teachers, work in local
churches to equip the members so that they
Por otra parte, en Efesios 4:11-12, can work in the power of the Holy Spirit to
encontramos otra lista de dones. accomplish the final purpose of the Creator
Sin embargo, en esta carta Pablo se of the universe. Therefore, these gifts are not
refiere a ciertas personas especiales included in this study. We will focus on our
que Dios le ha dado a su iglesia para personal, permanent gifts.
equipar y madurar a sus miembros.
Los apóstoles y profetas pusieron el This is what Romans 12 talks about. The list
fundamento de la iglesia hace dos mil we find here consists of seven permanent
años (Efesios 2:20), los evangelistas gifts, which God bestows on every Christian.
anuncian la buena noticia acerca de Paul says: “God in his generous love has
Jesús y su obra, y los pastores y given each one different gifts.” We can see
maestros, trabajan con los miembros, two ideas coming from this phrase. First, At
perfeccionándolos para el propósito some point in our lives, God gave each one
final del Creador. Por esta razón, of us particular gifts which enable us to serve
estos dones no se incluyen en este Him better in the fulfilment of His eternal
estudio. project. Second, each single member of the
church has God-given gifts. Every Christian
La lista que encontramos en Romanos has gifts from God which she or he must use
12 se refiere a otra clase de dones. to serve God and bless other human beings.
Estos son dones permanentes que Dios
le da a cada cristiano. Pablo dice:
«Dios en su generoso amor le ha dado Discover your gift!
a cada uno dones diferentes». Dos
cosas se desprenden de esta frase.
Primero, En algún momento de su vida, ¡Descubra su regalo!
Dios le dio dones que lo capacitan
para servir mejor en Su proyecto
eterno. Segundo, cada uno tiene What are these gifts which Romans 12 talk
dones. Todo cristiano tiene dones about? Let us begin by saying that these gifts are
que deben usarse para servir a Dios based on certain inclinations which we naturally
y bendecir a otros seres humanos. have. As we become Christians, the Holy Spirit
takes these inclinations and develops them into
¿Qué son los dones a los que se gifts to serve in the Kingdom. In Proverbs 22: 6,
refiere Romanos 12? Seguramente we have a significan piece of advice. Educators
son inclinaciones que tenemos por are told to instruct young people according to
naturaleza todos los seres humanos the measure, of their ways2. What does this
y que al convertirnos a Cristo, strange expression refer to? What can be the
el Espíritu Santo desarrolla path of a young man? What is the measure of
para que sirvamos en el reino. En such path? Let us try for a moment the following
Proverbios 22:6 se les recomienda free translation of the proverb. “Instruct a young
a los educadores que instruyan a man to walk by himself and even when he is old
los jóvenes de acuerdo, o en la he will not get out of his way”. The truth is that
medida, de sus caminos1. ¿A qué we all get frustrated when we try to “walk” like
se refiere esa extraña expresión? others do. Each one of us has his or her own way
¿Cuál puede ser el camino de un of walking throug life. We’re different. Even as
jóven? Tal vez podríamos traducir members of the same family or the same church,
este proverbio así: «Instruye al we all approach “walking” through life in our own
jóven a caminar por sí mismo y aun way. Therefore we must learn to be ourselves.
cuando fuere viejo no se apartará Very often we spin our wheels and live frustrated
de su camino». La verdad es que lives because we try to be like others. The fact is
nos frustramos cuando tratamos de that we are unique.
«caminar» igual que otros. Cada uno
de nosotros tiene su propia manera We observe this uniqueness even at a very
de caminar. Somos diferentes. Aún early age. Parents and educators know very well
siendo miembros de una misma familia that kids are different. By nature we do things
y parte de una misma iglesia, todos and react to our surrounding circumstances in
abordamos el «caminar» por la vida our own peculiar ways. We have certain innate
de manera diferente. inclinations which most likely became part of us
since we were formed in our mothers’ wombs.
Observamos esas diferencias desde The fact that identical twins resemble their tastes,
que los niños son chiquitos. Por preferences, and ways of living their lives, even
naturaleza hacemos las cosas y when they are raised in different and distant
reaccionamos ante lo que nos rodea places, indicates that these trends begin with
de maneras muy particulares. pregnancy. In multiple seminars with thousands
Tenemos ciertas inclinaciones of people, The Fortunes have observed that
innatas que vienen con nosotros many of our natural tendencies are related to the
muy probablemente desde que fuimos “gifts” which we find in Romans.
engendrados. El hecho de que los
gemelos idénticos se parezcan tanto We are different since the
en sus gustos, preferencias, y moment we were conceived.
formas de vivir su vida, nos indica
que seguramente estas tendencias Somos diferentes
empiezan desde el momento de la desde el momento
gestación. Los Fortune han observado de nuestra
en sus multiples seminarios con concepción.
miles de personas que parte de
estas tendencias se relacionan con
los «dones» de los que nos habla The Bible teaches that God has a purpose set
Romanos. forth even before the beginning of the universe.
It also teaches that are each one of us has
La Biblia enseña que Dios tiene un been included in his plans (Ephesians 1: 3-4).
propósito planteado desde antes But surely something terrible has happened.
de la fundación del mundo y que en Since we were conceived God endowed us
ese propósito estamos cada uno de with wonderful qualities and inclinations which
nosotros incluidos (Efesios 1:3-4). we can develop to serve him in deploying
Seguramente lo que ocurre es que His amazing plan. However, in the course of
desde que somos engendrados Dios nos our lives, we often distance ourselves from
dota con cualidades e inclinaciones God losing our sense of who we are and why
que podemos desarrollar en el we are here. Instead of using our God-given
curso de nuestro servicio a Él. qualities and inclinations to serve and love, we
Sin embargo, con frecuecia nos distort them to pursue selfish and sinful goals.
distanciamos de Dios y perdemos When we return to God and received the great
el sentido de quiénes somos y para gift of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit in our hearts
que estamos aquí. Al volvernos a refocuses our natural inclinations in such a way
Dios y recibir por fe al Espíritu that they become very valuable assets withing
Santo en nosotros, Él reenfoca our Christian communities. Paul says that our
nuestras inclinaciones naturales communities are like the body of Christ and that
hacia su verdadera razón de ser en we are precious members of that body, each one
la comunidad cristiana, que es el with our own gifts and abilities. This is where the
cuerpo de Cristo. De ahí surgen permanent gifts of Romans come from. They are
los dones permanentes de los que the result of the work of the Holy Spirit with our
habla Romanos.Siendo este el caso, God-given inclinations which we received even
descubrir los dones que tenemos in our embryonic stage. This being the case,
es sumamente importante. Nuestros recognizing which gifts we have is extremely
dones responden a las inclinaciones important.
naturales con las que hemos nacido
y por consiguiente tienen que ver Our permanent gifts, bestowed on un by the
con nuestra personalidad y con Holy Spirit, corespond to our natural inclinations
todo lo que hacemos en la vida. with which we were born. They are a critical
Nuestros dones determinan nuestra component of our personality and a decisive
manera personal y única de abordar factor in everything we do in life. Our gifts
nuestro «caminar cristiano». determine our personal and unique way of
Cuando no apreciamos los dones que approaching our “Christian walk”. When we do
tenemos, corremos el riesgo de vivir not appreciate the gifts God has given us, we
frustrados; solemos estancarnos en run the risk of encountering multiple frustrations;
nuestra carrera, y hasta podemos We can hinder the progress of our Christian
abandonar el camino que Jesús nos ha career and even end up abandoning the path
marcado. that Jesus marked for us.
Por otra parte también es importante It is also important to become aware of the fact
que hagamos conciencia de que otros that other members of the church have other
miembros de la iglesia tienen otros gifts. Our personal gifts provide us with a unique
dones. Nuestros dones personales perspective on the Bible, the church, the family,
nos dan una perspectiva única de and everything else that happens around us.
la Biblia, de la iglesia, de la We often assume that our way of perceiving
familia, y de todo lo que pasa a reality is the only way, or at least the best way.
nuestro alrededor. Por eso solemos Therefores, we have the tendency to impose our
asumir que los demás tienen que ver views on others. We often expect every body
las cosas como las vemos nosotros. to value the thing we value and to do things the
Hay un cuento pular que ilustra bien way we like them to be done. The following
lo que estamos diciendo. Dice lo story illustrates well what we are saying.
siguiente:
In Antiquity, there lived six blind men who spent
«En la Antigüedad, vivían seis the hours competing among themselves to
hombres ciegos que pasaban las horas see who was the wisest. They expounded their
compitiendo entre ellos para ver knowledge and then decided among all who was
quién era el más sabio. Exponían sus the most convincing.
saberes y luego decidían entre todos
quién era el más convincente.» One day, arguing about the exact shape of an
elephant, they could not agree. As none of them
«Un día, discutiendo acerca de la had ever touched one, they decided to leave
forma exacta de un elefante, no the next day to find a sample, and settle their
conseguían ponerse de acuerdo. doubts.
Como ninguno de ellos había tocado
nunca uno, decidieron salir al día Standing in line, with their hands on the
siguiente a la busca de un ejemplar, shoulders of the person who preceded them,
y así salir de dudas.» they set off along the path that led them into the
jungle. Soon they realized that they were next to
«Puestos en fila, con las manos en a large elephant. Full of joy, the six blind sages
los hombros de quien les precedía, congratulated themselves on their luck. Finally
emprendieron la marcha enfilando they could solve the dilemma.
la senda que se adentraba en la
selva. Pronto se dieron cuenta que The most determined, pounced on the elephant
estaban al lado de un gran elefante. with great enthusiasm to touch him. However,
Llenos de alegría, los seis sabios the rush made them stumble and fall face
ciegos se felicitaron por su suerte. down on the animal’s side. “The elephant,” he
Finalmente podrían resolver el exclaimed, “is like a wall of mud dried in the
dilema.» sun.”
«El más decidido, se abalanzó sobre The second advanced with more caution. With
el elefante con gran ilusión por outstretched hands he went to find his fangs.
tocarlo. Sin embargo, las prisas “No doubt the shape of this animal is like that of
hicieron tropezar y caer de bruces a spear.”
contra el costado del animal.» “El
elefante –exclamó– es como una
pared de barro secada al sol”.
«El quinto de los sabios se encontró The fifth of the sages touched the ear of the
con la oreja y dijo: “Ninguno de elephant and said:” None of you has been able
vosotros ha acertado en su forma.» to perceive the correct shate of the elepant. “This
El elefante es más bien como un gran animal is rather like a large flat fan.”
abanico plano”.
The sixth sage, who was the oldest, walked
«El sexto sabio que era el más towards the animal slowly, hunched over, leaning
viejo, se encaminó hacia el animal on a cane. As bent as he was by age, he passed
con lentitud, encorvado, apoyándose under the belly of the elephant and stumbled
en un bastón. De tan doblado que over one of his thick legs. “Listen! I am touching
estaba por la edad, pasó por debajo it right now and I assure you that the elephant
de la barriga del elefante y tropezó has the same shape as the trunk of a large palm
con una de sus gruesas patas.» tree.“
“¡Escuchad! Lo estoy tocando ahora
mismo y os aseguro que el elefante Having satisfied their curiosity, they hold hands
tiene la misma forma que el tronco and returned again through the path that led
de una gran palmera”. them to their home. Seated again under the palm
tree which offered them shade they resumed the
«Satisfecha así su curiosidad, discussion about the true form of the elephant.
volvieron a darse las manos y Everyone had experienced for themselves what
tomaron otra vez la senda que the true form was, and they all believed that the
les conducía a su casa. Sentados others were wrong.
de nuevo bajo la palmera que
les ofrecía sombra retomaron la
discusión sobre la verdadera
forma del elefante. Todos habían
experimentado por ellos mismos cuál
era la forma verdadera y creían que
los demás estaban equivocados.»
Answer all of the questions on the Answer Key. On a scale of 0-5 grade each of these statements
according to how well it describes you and your tendencies.