Saturday, August 14, 2010

Unique For A Purpose

I let the sun go down on my anger that night because he did not help me prepare stew and he was not interested in learning. After cooking enough food for 2 weeks, I went straight to bed and slept in anger. The next morning I woke up and grunted, "The sink is blocked". I knew in the house there were no instruments for fixing a seriously blocked sink. But when I heard the sound of pumping, suction and flushing, I had to take a peek at what was going on in the kitchen. With his bare hands, he was fixing the sink. All the anger of the previous night instantly dissipated as I thought, "he may not know how to make stew but he sure is a sexy and skilled man at plumbing".

It began to dawn on me that our differences are for a purpose. The world is beautiful because we all are not the same. There are those around us that will make us laugh, those that will make us think, and those that will encourage us. We grow up in families. As huge as mine was, none had the same strength and weaknesses. We go to school and play/work with people. Each one has his/her unique abilities. We work in teams. Each has something to contribute, no matter how dormant a team member may seem. We should not look down on anyone.

You are unique for a reason. Along with this knowledge of uniqueness comes responsibility. For if truly you are a unique expression of life, then unique to you are the gifts, talents and potential to excel at the unique tasks which define your destiny and your life calling. No one else can fulfill what you have been uniquely created for. If you do not do what you should do, it will go undone, or done by someone else in a very different way.

Also, speaking of gifts for the body of Christ, God has given each of us a gift(s) from His great variety of spiritual gifts. He expects us to use them to serve one another. There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. God never changes His mind when He gives gifts or when He calls someone. You can have, know and apply your spiritual gifts.

I take my hat off to all those who are applying their gifts and talents to shine the light and love of God in this world, no matter how insignificant it may seem to you. God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for Him and how you have shown your love to Him by caring for other believers, as you still do [Hebrews 6:10, NLT].

For those who are in the process of identifying your gifts and calling, or to take the bold step of responding to them, may your eyes be opened to see who you really are and what difference you can make in this world. I pray God will make you intelligent and discerning in knowing Him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is He is calling you to do [Ephesians 1:18, MSG].

May we not run out of time, health, love and wisdom without knowing why we are here, and having the information and tools we need to express our unique potentials and live an extraordinary life. May we not leave this life without fulfilling our purposes.

If you are interested in identifying some of your spiritual gifts, you may visit this link on Spiritual Gift Test (140 Questions, ZeL thanks for reminding me to warn all :-) ). I made an attempt. My strongest point went to writing (for now) and my weakest point went to celibacy :-) (My name is not Paulina!)

You are unique for a purpose, so also are the circumstances you pass through. Are you fulfilling what you were created for, taking advantage of the road you have travelled, or are you allowing the greatness in you remain latent?

17 comments:

Jennifer A. said...

"He may not know how to make stew but he sure is a sexy and skilled man at plumbing".

I really enjoyed reading this. No two people were created with the same finger-prints- not even identical twins, there's a reason for that.

Isabella said...

I loved the the first paragraph.....

I was thinking of all my friends the other day and I was thinking they are all so different and are there for me in different ways .... This post just confirmed that thought :)

QuTe said...

The differences make for a more robust experience - different parts to a coherent, complete whole - i think....

David C Brown said...

It's good that we have those to work together with, each supporting the other, making stew or unblocking drains, Paul planting and Apollos watering. God gives the increase, 1 Corinthians 3: 7.

ZeL said...

Nice..The world would be such a bore if we were all alike.

Took that test, u should have warned that its long sha; but it was a real eye-opener 4 me. Tanx!

Myne said...

The world is beautiful because we all are not the same.

_________

So true. Your first paragraph made me smile. Imagine how boring it would be if we were all the same?

Unknown said...

Enjoyed reading, Rita. Greetings to you and a lovely weekend.

Your post reminds me of something on my mind earlier this week, regarding couples. - Being aware of each other's strengths and weaknesses so they can bring out the best in each other.

My mum always says if you have twelve children, none of them would be the same. The important thing is to appreciate the fine qualities of each child and instil confidence in that way.

jhazmyn said...

Lol @ being no Paulina...

I constantly have to remind myself of this when working in a team, when I feel someone is not at aggressive as he/she shud in doing a task, I'm tempted to step in and speak, but I've learnt that cos of our differences, we may sometimes take different routes to arrive at the same destination, but we owe it to each other to respect these differences.

Rita said...

@Jaycee: - Thank you. The differences in identical twins are so amazing – It is indeed for a reason, and it makes me just say God is awesome.

@ Miss FlyHigh: - Now you made me go to read that paragraph again, lol. True, I have seen so much of this uniqueness in character and in being there among my friends…funny I did not think of that when I was writing this…

@QuTe: - If I am to summarize, I would take your statement word for word…

@ David C Brown: - Your comment made me laugh out loud when you made mention of the stew/drains alongside Paul and Apollos. Very inspiring though. And to God be the glory, there will be increase.

@ ZeL: - I have put the warning oh! When I got to No. 10 I thought it will end but I did not know I was in for a long journey.

@ Myne Whitman: - Yes oh, it would really be boring if we were all the same – everyone making stew with no one to unblock the sink or vice versa…

@ Naijalines: - thank you. Yeah, for couples I think one part of complementing is where their strengths differ and they make up for each other’s weaknesses with their individual strengths.
Your mother’s words are so full of wisdom.

@ jhazmyn: - Yes oh, I am not Paulina, but this made me realize that some are actually called to celibacy, for instance nuns. I was not a team player before oh! I could not stand certain things from people. I had a team member who always said “no” to every team request. Later on I found out that all he needed was a word of encouragement – “you can do it” and that was the magic word. That brought out the best in him. So truly, no one is insignificant.

bArOquE said...

interesting read
...as different as our faces are, so are our hearts & minds...talents, skills, calling & all...
maybe i should go & look at the 140 questions
Happy Sunday

Dee! said...

I like this phrase: "He may not know how to make stew but he sure is a sexy and skilled man at plumbing".

Yes every human has a unique quality that stands out! We are unique for a purpose.

Anoda Phase said...

First, let me say a big AMEN! to those beautiful prayers of yours...

Lovely post on our God-given uniqueness...

Blessing said...

Yes!..."We were are created different to make a difference"- My Pastor :)

LG said...

lol@..but he sure is a sexy and skilled man at plumbing". OK o :)

Amen and thanx for d 'prayers

Anonymous said...

Thanks for stopping by.
Is the hand less important than the leg?
or the eyes more important than the ears?
or the tongue more useful than the teeth?

NO!..because we are ALL uniquely made hence EVERYBODY is important & useful .....thats what makes the world so interesting, exciting & bubbling! if we are ALL the same, it would be SOOOOOOOOOO BORING!
OUR HEAVENLY FATHER knows this, hence the diversity.have a blessed weekend.

Kafo said...

i am going to go and take the test right now
i am beginning to realize that Mother Theresa did not wake up a saint in Calcutta,
it is the little things we do
that matter
applying your gifts one day at a time is what he asked

i liked the bit about sexy and skilled man in plumbing

have a good evening

okay i think i have caught up for all the posts i haven't read in a more

ttyl

Anonymous said...

"If you do not do what you should do, it will go undone, or done by someone else...."

Ultimately, we are (all individually) responsible to do our part (depicted by our uniqueness).