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Developing A God-Centered Perspective Of Life
Lesson 5: What Makes Me Unique?
You have been remarkably and wondrously created by God (Psalm 139:13-16) in His image (Genesis 1:26), bound for eternity in either Heaven or Hell (Matthew 25:31-46). During your earthly life, God desires that you seek Him (Acts 17:26-28). Although this world may not consider you as having anything special to offer it, God views you as having a unique ability and opportunity to glorify His name! Therefore, your perspective of life must reflect the important and unique way God wants you to seek Him by putting His will into action in your life.
Esther 4:13-14
The book of Esther tells how God provided deliverance from annihilation for the Jews through the circumstances of a Jewish woman named Esther who was selected by the Persian king, Ahasuerus, to be his queen. Later, when a decree was made to annihilate the Jews by a high-ranking official, Esther’s cousin and guardian named Mordecai encouraged Esther about what she should do. Namely, Mordecai encouraged her to recognize how God may have brought her into her specific circumstances to deliver the Jewish people from this annihilation, and urged her to use her position to approach the king about the matter. When she did, she helped save the Jewish people and preserve the lineage for Jesus Christ! Similarly, God uses ordinary people today to accomplish purposes for Him in this world every day. While you may never save an entire nation from annihilation, you may be the one God wants to use for other important purposes. These can include giving someone an opportunity to learn about salvation in Jesus, encouraging someone through challenging circumstances, serving someone in need, mentoring a young person, etc. (Matthew 25:31-46). Therefore, although you may come up with many excuses as to why you believe you are not useful in God’s service, you must embrace the way God is trying to use you in your present position in life for His glory!
Ephesians 2:1-10
Although you have sinned and deserved to experience the wrath of God in Hell, God has chosen to show His love, grace, and mercy through Jesus Christ to those who will put their full faith in Him so that they obey Him (Acts 2:37-41). If you will trust God and live by faith, He will use you to accomplish works He has prepared for His people to do! It doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from, what you have done in your past, what your limitations are, or any other factor. If you are willing to commit your life to the faithful service of Jesus Christ, you will be useful because the works God desires from you (as outlined in Scripture) are useful to Him! Although everyone can produce spiritual fruit in different quantities (Mark 4:8, 20), you are the only person who can produce the exact fruit that can be produced in your life!
1 Corinthians 12:12-27
Although the context of this passage relates to the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit that had been given to Christians in New Testament times, the larger principle is also observed and taught elsewhere in the Scriptures (Romans 12:3-8; Ephesians 4:11-16). This principle concerns each person who is part of Jesus’s church (His body, Colossians 1:18) accomplishing a unique function in the body. Just like the individuality of each member of your physical body helps your physical body accomplish its work to its maximum ability, your uniqueness (when submitted to the teachings of God, James 4:7) will help the body of Christ accomplish its work to its maximum ability! Therefore, no matter how much or how little of a role you play in Christ’s body (church), your contribution will be important!
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Rather than using your body in a selfish and/or sinful way, you must commit to letting God be glorified through it (Romans 6:12-13). Although everyone is different in how much he/she can physically and mentally accomplish in their bodies (e.g. energy, health, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, etc.), that is not what matters to God. God does not necessarily care how you compare with another person and what they can do in their bodies. In fact, it is not wise to compare yourself with others, but to try and maximize how God can use you in His service (2 Corinthians 10:12-18). You are so loved by God that He has purchased you out of slavery to sin/Satan with the blood of Jesus Christ (Romans 6:16-23; 1 Peter 1:18-21) so that you could use your body in whatever unique way you can to bring glory to God through your faith-filled obedience to His word. Therefore, you must carefully and soberly examine yourself to consider all the possible ways you can serve Jesus Christ in your body on this earth (Philippians 2:12-16)!
1 Peter 4:10-11
Although you may look at your life and see all the things you cannot do, God has gifted you with ways that you can serve Him on this earth in ways that are unique to you. No other person possesses your same opportunities, abilities, relationships, resources, etc. While people may get caught up in and discouraged by comparisons with others, the important thing to God is for you to embrace your uniqueness and find ways to leverage that uniqueness to serve Him and others by putting His word to work in the context of your life! For, God never requires you to be exactly like or surpass another human. Instead, He simply wants you to be a good steward (manager) of those things He has given to you to have and manage on this earth in a way that will bring Him honor, glory, and praise (Matthew 25:14-30)!
Conclusion
If you live without Christ and focus on your life from a worldly perspective, you may never accomplish anything considered “special” or “unique.” However, if you give your life to Christ, you should recognize that He will purchase you with His blood and make you useful in His service. Your uniqueness will be tremendously valuable to Him as part of His body (church) because He wants to use you in His service to fulfill your purpose in a way no one else can!
Discipleship Questions
How did God use Esther to accomplish a unique purpose?
How can God use your life to accomplish a unique purpose?
What has God prepared for those He has saved to do?
How is the service you can provide for God unique?
How does God use the uniqueness of every member of His church?
Why is it unwise to compare yourself with others?
How does God view what you can do in your body?
What does God expect you to do with the unique combination of things He has given you on this earth?