This past Epiphany, we explored what we called “the Genome”. The idea behind the Genome was that if the Church is the Body of Christ, then it shares His DNA, His genetic coding. This happens in the case of bone marrow or certain stem cell transplants for cancer patients. The cancerous cells of the old body are mixed with the healthy cells of the donor – but this means that doing a DNA test means that you run a risk that the DNA of the donor shows up instead of the DNA of the host. 
That’s what it is like for us in the Body of Christ. We have received the donation of Christ’s life for us, and as such, we have received His DNA – not bodily, but spiritually. Christian author Alan Hirsch has spilled a lot of ink on this topic, and has a working theory that you can view this DNA in terms of the list that you find in Ephesians 4:11 – “He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers.”
Now as the Body of Christ, we don’t all have all of the gifts. Rather, we are given our personal giftings as a stewardship, something for us to appreciate, develop, and use for His glory. Only Jesus was fully apostle, prophet, evangelist, shepherd, and teacher – but as His Body, we manifest certain giftings to certain extents.
I believe it will be interesting to see how we manifest those gifts at University Lutheran. To start to do this, I recommend that we take an inventory that can help us begin to discern which of these gifts Jesus has given to us. If you are interested in this – please go to http://www.fivefoldsurvey.com/ and take the survey/inventory.
For the next several weeks, we will be talking about those parts of Jesus’ “Genome” with the hope in mind that at the end of this process you will have a clearer understanding of your specific role within the Body of Christ. This survey won’t tell you everything, so don’t let it, but rather use this to begin some time of prayer with God. Ask Him to clarify your identity, your function, and your relation to others in the Body of Christ, but most of all ask Him to clarify for you that great gift that He gives to all who do not reject His Spirit, faith that leads to eternal life.