Quick, list out five of your best characteristics. Okay, now list out five of your areas of giftedness. Finally, list out five areas where you know you could stand to grow. How easy or difficult was that brief exercise to do? For some of us, it might have gone rather easily, and for others, it might have been somewhat of a challenge.
Over my years of working with God's people, I've come to realize something. A lot of the time, we don't really know who we are. Just go to your local gathering of God's saints and ask people what their areas of giftedness are. I can almost assure you that quite a few will tell you that they don't know. Ask them what they are good at doing, and you'll likely find a similar response.
While knowing in depth who we are isn't a requirement of God's eternal kingdom, it not only helps us in our lives, but it also helps us in relation to other people. If you don't know who you are, you probably tend to find yourself becoming whatever others expect of you. If you know who you are, you have a better ability to express yourself, as well as choose areas of strength in which you can engage in God's ministry to others. You tend to be better at expressing why you think what you do, and why you agree or disagree with things.
I realize that there are a lot of factors that go into forming who we are. Some of them are God-given (think gifts, abilities, and passions) and others are humanly formed (for example, I have had to work quite a bit to develop a lot of my leadership skills and abilities). We give thanks for each of them, and discover that we are better able to serve God and serve others when we know who we are, what we are capable of, and how we best function.
A lot of that can be wrapped up in the story of our life. For many of us, we likely have never really tried to express ourselves by telling our story. In tomorrow's blog entry, we'll look at that in a bit more depth. But in the meantime, I pray that you will give a little thought to answer the question, who are you?
Over my years of working with God's people, I've come to realize something. A lot of the time, we don't really know who we are. Just go to your local gathering of God's saints and ask people what their areas of giftedness are. I can almost assure you that quite a few will tell you that they don't know. Ask them what they are good at doing, and you'll likely find a similar response.
While knowing in depth who we are isn't a requirement of God's eternal kingdom, it not only helps us in our lives, but it also helps us in relation to other people. If you don't know who you are, you probably tend to find yourself becoming whatever others expect of you. If you know who you are, you have a better ability to express yourself, as well as choose areas of strength in which you can engage in God's ministry to others. You tend to be better at expressing why you think what you do, and why you agree or disagree with things.
I realize that there are a lot of factors that go into forming who we are. Some of them are God-given (think gifts, abilities, and passions) and others are humanly formed (for example, I have had to work quite a bit to develop a lot of my leadership skills and abilities). We give thanks for each of them, and discover that we are better able to serve God and serve others when we know who we are, what we are capable of, and how we best function.
A lot of that can be wrapped up in the story of our life. For many of us, we likely have never really tried to express ourselves by telling our story. In tomorrow's blog entry, we'll look at that in a bit more depth. But in the meantime, I pray that you will give a little thought to answer the question, who are you?
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