I watched a sermon Sunday morning, mostly because I overslept and couldn't make it to church, but God did something awesome through that. I clicked on a sermon, read the description, and thought well that sounds alright. It was no accident that I was hearing the words that were spoken, I truly believe God was speaking to me through that pastor.
Pastor Josh was speaking on a topic that we discuss a lot as Christians: purpose. He began with an anecdote about kids in school and how as they grow up they begin to believe less and less in their own abilities. Instead, "society trains the natural-born foolishness out of kids". It happens to all of us! We go from being imaginative children who think we can do anything and be anything to trying to fit into a mold that society came up with. Why do we do this? To fit in with everyone else. To feel like we belong. Then he dropped a truth bomb: "We are still struggling to feel significant".
Squeezing ourselves into society's mold doesn't fill us up with purpose or meaning, it isn't fueled by passion. Instead, it makes us the same as everyone else, nothing changes in our world as long as that is true.
Lots of people make the argument that Christianity is also a type of cookie cutter, which is partly true. We as Christians are modeling ourselves after Jesus and we have to believe and do certain things to accomplish that.
However, the cool thing is that God made us all uniquely. There are parts of me that look nothing like you! Josh summed it up nicely, "God equips you to use you like He made you". So, God wants to use those quirks you have to further His kingdom! You as a unique individual have a specific purpose, given to you by God. How crazy is that to think about?
It is perfectly okay that you are not the same as the person next to you. God didn't make you to fit into this perfect cookie cutter. Yes, we should get to know Jesus and grow to be like Him, however our unique gifts He has blessed us with allow our stories to vary from everyone else. That is beautiful!
Another truth bomb Josh dropped was, "The goal of Christianity is not uniformity, but unity". If we do not rise up together, nothing in this world will change. We must use our gifts and each other to help people see Jesus. That is our job. We cannot sit idly.
God can use you to do amazing things that you never imagined could be done. Will you trust Him enough to use you? As Josh said, "If you do what God made you to do, everything will change".
Click here to listen to the full sermon: http://immanuelhome.org/watch/sermons It is entitled: Reason For You: Special Forces
Verses to go along with this:
1 Peter 4: 10
Romans 12: 6-8
