Rediscover the Bible for Life

“Being What God Intended You To Be”

By Dennis Lee

The Bible tells us that God created each of us as a special unique masterpiece in Christ, each with a special and specific purpose.

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)

We are uniquely created by God and put upon this earth for a reason. We are not an accident of random cosmic circumstances. Instead we are God’s workmanship, His masterpiece created in Christ Jesus to do good works.

So, how are we to know what God’s purpose is? What is God’s unique calling for our lives?

The Bible says, “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.” (1 Corinthians 12:4-6)

God has given to each of us differing abilities, that is, none of us have the exact same giftedness or ability as everyone else, and we should be emphasizing these in our workplaces as well as in the ministry.

I read a story about how animals decided to start a school of their own. The courses included, running, climbing, swimming and flying, and all the animals needed to take and pass each course. The duck got an A+ in swimming, but was failing badly in running. So, the duck was kept after school to concentrate more on his running skills. Unfortunately it caused his webbed feet to wear out so his grade dropped to average in swimming. Everyone else in the swimming class felt less threatened and the establishment was more comfortable with the outcome, that is, everyone but the duck.

The rabbit started at the top of the class on running, but was horrible in swimming. So they kept him after school to concentrate on keeping his head above the water. In the end, the rabbit spent so much time in the water that he became water logged and caught pneumonia forcing him to drop out of school.

The squirrel was an A+ student in climbing, but failed flying. So, like the duck and the rabbit they kept the squirrel after school to concentrate on flying. The squirrel ended up getting a really bad Charlie Horse from over exertion and ended up getting a C in climbing and a D in running.

And the eagle, well he got expelled because he was a non-conformist. Instead of climbing, he flew up to the top of the hill. And instead of running he flew high and then swooped down close to the ground. He insisted on passing each course his own way.

The point is that God has designed everyone with certain abilities and gifts to excel in the ways God had created them. And when a person is forced into a mold where they are not gifted in it causes frustration, mediocrity, and possible failure. Just as a duck was meant to be a duck and not a rabbit, so you were meant to be uniquely you and no one else.

This week in our Sunday messages we’ll be at how we can stir up God’s spiritual giftedness in our morning service beginning at 10 a.m., and then in our evening service we’ll be looking at how we can know God’s calling upon our lives.