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BODY BUILDER
We are all on a journey. The journey is not to some far-off land; it is a “coming home” to our roots, to our origins, to the place we came from. Like so many of God’s creation, we are built with a “homing instinct.”
It is as if God dropped us off (as he did Jesus) in some remote, strange and, in many ways, hostile country. He has given us a map for the journey: the Bible. He has also given us all we need to make the journey home. Those assets, intended to guide our personal way back, are wrapped up in what we are…in how God made us. He fashioned us, very deliberately, while we were still in the womb (Psalm 139), creating a unique mix of shapes and sizes, color, race, etc. He also gave us our personality, natural talents, passion (for some cause), and personality, distributing these as he willed to each of us. As Galatians 5 tells us (The Message paraphrase), “Each of us is an original.”
What an incredible concept. No two people in the whole of the world are exactly alike. And, if God did make us deliberately in the womb, we have to believe that we are created unique for a purpose. In fact, if we seek to be in the center of God’s will, we might start by exploring the way he has made us, because that center will be found as we discover and do what he designed us to do.
The problem is that so many people never “unwrap” the assets/attributes he has blessed us with. So they have little idea of God’s specific plan for their life. It is sad because if we do not discover and use these unique attributes, we will at best flounder through life. At worst, we will leave undone the unique journey he wants us to make… missing divine appointments he has planned for us with those he has set in the path he wants us to follow.
Sooner or later, we will find ourselves home—even if by a route God did not plan or intend for us. What will we say then, when he asks, “Did you enjoy the journey? Tell me about those serendipitous encounters I planned for you along the way?”
God made everything for his purpose. He makes no mistakes; we are what we are because that’s what he wants us to be! He made us—no two alike—to make the return journey He wants us to make. To impact those we encounter on that journey.
And, if we don’t accept who we are, are unhappy with or ashamed of how he made us, we are challenging his divine authority. That’s like spitting on God.
So why does life for so many seem to lack meaning? Could it be that we prefer the route home that we choose: taking the faster, easier route (that trodden by the trailblazers), preferring the well-known terrain (mapped by others not afraid to step out into the unknown in faith). If so, no wonder life is boring and lacks excitement! Each of us is designed to be a trailblazer!
Following the furrows (dare I say ruts) of others may prevent us from creating furrows God wants us to forge for ourselves. They are bound to be new tracks others have not trodden. How could they not be if we are unique? Additionally, if we follow the furrows of others, the ground God wants us to cover may not be and we will miss those God-planned divine appointments/encounters. No wonder so many may feel out of alignment with God’s will. Doing good works but feeling they are somehow missing the mark.
His plan is for us to discover our uniqueness in order to better see the journey he has planned for us… to plow the furrow God wants us to plow, each going to places and touching people ordained by Him. And, there is a bonus! Jesus already made the journey back from here to Home, and he has gone ahead carrying your burden and baggage so that you can travel light!
“…we…do not cease to pray for you and to ask that you be filled with the knowledge of His will… that you may have a walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” Col. 1:9 (NKJV)
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