Is It Magic? A Look at Spiritual Gifts and the Body of Christ Through a Fantasy Lens

A lot of fantasy books involve magic. It may be in the form of wizard or elven magic, with spells and artifacts. But other times, the magic system varies greatly. I knew this, but never considered my books to have magic… until Amazon categorized Prophecy Awakens under the sword and sorcery section. It threw me. My books don’t have magic! Or do they? In my opinion, no. In the eyes of the genre, yes. 

The idea of what counts as magic can vary from person to person, but in the world of books, there is a simple classification that basically says anything that involves powers is considered a magic system. 

The Rise of the Warriors series focuses on characters with special abilities called gifts. Gifts come in many forms, including increased strength, talking to animals, healing, and prophecy. If you use the classification I just mentioned, then, yes, my books include a magic system. But, if you ask me, it isn’t magic. 

I call the characters’ abilities “gifts” for a reason. When I was first writing Prophecy Awakens, the first book in the series, I was thinking of the gifts of the Spirit. 

Yes, I know things like super strength and talking to plants are not gifts of the Spirit. But spiritual gifts inspired me, and some of the gifts in my books—like prophecy and healing—are gifts of the Spirit. The other gifts are more closely related to talents. Everyone has talents, be it singing, art, building, etc. These talents are given to us by God, but we can often use them whether or not we are using them for him. For example, my neighbor said his son can play the piano well, but instead of honoring God with his talent, he plays in honky-tonks. Gifts of the Spirit, on the other hand, are given only to believers. My books reflect this. 

In my books, only believers are prophets, and whenever a character with the gift of healing uses their gift, they must pray for it to work. The other gifts, like talking to animals, work regardless of whether or not the person is a believer. 

So, why write about gifts and talents? Why not? In real life, everyone has talents and believers have gifts. And I’ve always loved the Bible’s teachings on spiritual gifts.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:7, “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” (NIV) He then lists the different gifts—messages of wisdom and knowledge, faith, healing, and the list goes on. But one thing Paul stresses is that all the gifts come from the same Spirit. 

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work… All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines. (v. 4-6, 11)

We’re all different. God created each of us with a plan and purpose, and he equips us to fulfill them. The Holy Spirit gives gifts to us as he chooses. If we need the gift of healing, he will give it to us. If our calling requires great faith, he’ll provide it. 

One thing about the gifts of the Spirit is that they show how God likes to work in different ways. There are many different gifts. Different ways to serve God. He doesn’t just use one method or one type of person. We’re all different. God created a variety of people, so it makes sense he would reach out to us in different ways. 

It helps to show how big our God is. He is the God of faith, and also the God of prophecy. He works through miracles, and through wisdom. He gives both tongues and interpretation, and discernment of spirits. He is God over all and uses whatever he chooses to show his glory and reach out to us. 

Do you know what’s amazing? God chooses to use us. Broken, small, inadequate us. 

He could do it all on his own. He doesn’t need us. He wants us. 

God could let our lives go by without purpose or meaning. He could let us just exist with no greater calling. But he instead chooses to use us for his glory, to help others come to know him. And he gives each of us a unique calling to do just that. 

Some are preachers, other singers, or authors, or missionaries. Some people spread God’s love by living it out in their homes, workplaces, and communities. There is no end to the ways God can use us, even in the mundane, everyday places. 

But some of us doubt. Some of us think we aren’t big enough, smart enough, strong enough. We don’t think God can use us. We think our talents and gifts aren’t enough. 

Go back to 1 Corinthians chapter 12, and we’ll see that this isn’t true. After talking about gifts, Paul goes on to describe the body. 

Think about your body. There are feet, hands, ears, eyes. So many different parts, and each of them important. All are needed. “But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.” (v. 18-20)

Paul wasn’t just talking about the human body. He was talking about the body of Christ—us. Just think about that one line, that God placed every part, “just as he wanted them to be.” That means you. That means me. That means every believer has been placed exactly where God wants them. Are you a preacher? Singer? Artist? A missionary overseas? A teenager who’s scared but still talks to her friends about God? A parent who tries their best to model a Christian lifestyle to their kid? 

Wherever God leads you, know that he hand picked you for that service. You’re not here by accident. God will lead you where he wants you and use you in ways you can’t even imagine. God can use what seems small and unimportant to us to bring about an enormous impact on others’ lives. 

Don’t count yourself out if your talents seem small or your impact insignificant. The eye and the hand are vastly different, but we need them both. A missionary and a person who witnesses to their sister are different, but God uses them both. 

Each part of the body of Christ is just as important as the next. We shouldn’t compare ourselves with each other. We need to rest in the truth that each of us is valuable to God, and he will place us and use as he wants. No one is too small. No one is out of place as long as they’re following God’s lead. Every talent has purpose; every gift is specifically given to the person God wants to have it. 

If the Spirit goes so far as to choose to give you a gift, don’t you think he’ll use you? If God places every part of the body where he wants it, including you, aren’t you just as important as the rest? 

You may be like Flynn. Over the course of the series, he struggles to find value in the gift the Creator has given him. He thinks it’s too odd, too small, and he can’t imagine how it could possibly be useful. But he finds out he’s wrong. I can’t tell everything, because of spoilers, but let’s just say, Flynn’s gift turns out to be very powerful and is used in a big way. 

The same is true for us. We might not see how our talents are important or how God can use us, but rest assured, he can. And he will.