Suzanne Bloch, an immigrant from Germany, often played chamber music with Albert Einstein and other prominent scientists. She said that Einstein, though an accomplished violinist, irritated his fellow musicians by not coming in on the beat. “You see,” Bloch explained, “he couldn’t count.” Einstein could project revolutionary theories about the cosmos, but he had difficulty with rhythmic counting. Despite his limitation, he remained an enthusiastic musician.

Do we sometimes lament our limitations? We all have abilities, but we are also afflicted with inabilities. We may be tempted to use our limitations as an excuse for not doing the things God has enabled us to do. Just because we may not be gifted to speak in public or to sing in a choir doesn’t mean that we can sit on the spiritual sidelines doing nothing.

When we realize that all of us have limitations, we can move forward by seeking God’s guidance in using our gifts. Surely we can pray. Surely we can show kindness to others. We can visit the lonely, the sick, the elderly. We can tell with effective simplicity what Jesus means to us. Paul said, “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them” (Rom. 12:6).  — Vernon C. Grounds