God wants to do something absolutely wonderful and amazing in and through your life! He has made you unique with a purpose unlike any other person past, present, or yet to be created. He wants to position you to fulfill a destiny that can only be accomplished by you and you alone!
For most of us, if not all of us; we read a statement like this and something deep inside leaps within our hearts. Then, simultaneously something internally shuts down this temporary spring of hope. A voice inside quickly reminds us that we are ordinary, simple human beings that will more than likely live out our days sitting in a five by five cubical - gawking at a mind glazing computer screen with an occasional shuffle of paper work from folder to folder. Our mortal reflexes recount the reality that mowing our lawns once a week might be the highlight of our physical activity yet it remains our only cherished "alone" time. Maybe, you are overshadowed by the daunting sentence of running kids to and from soccer and football practices for the next five to ten years. What about the fact that our 401(K)'s are no where near retirement readiness with twenty possibly even thirty years ahead of us before we can even think of exhaling some sort of sigh of relief. To ponder the thought of destiny amidst our already stringently scheduled lives can be the straw that threatens to break the back of our once pure, innocent and maybe even ignorant dreams and aspirations. For many of us, we truly believe that purposeful destiny may exist for those who are wealthy, extraordinarily special or possibly just plain ole lucky, but it simply doesn't appear to be a reality for us.
Deep within, our heart aches for purpose, yet we continually deny it. Maybe even forbid it. Possibly due to the complexity of who we have become. We are all too aware of our faults and weaknesses. We know our deepest darkest secrets and if anyone knew what we knew of ourselves, we would be too ashamed to poke our heads outside of our homes in fear that our fellow suburban perfectionites might see the blemishes of our past and consider us a poisonous monster too evil with whom to share the earth. I haven't met a person yet who doesn't to some degree have regrets of past actions or decisions i.e. college, marriage, or finances etc... However, whether or not we remain chained to our past is a choice we all make alone.
God has designed you and me for a purpose which is perfect! It is perfect because He is perfect and His purposes and plans are perfect! His decision to create you and me long before the world ever was; is all the evidence we need. He is well aware of our imperfections and knows our distractions better than we may. Yet, in it all God has a purpose for our living and breathing; our very existence among this generation. As His creation, you are no exception! He has designed each and every one of us in a way that is original. You are not a copy and there are no duplicates of you. We are all individually unique!
For most of us this seems too unrealistic, so we simply dismiss it altogether. As a result of our unwillingness to accept the fact that God has purposely and intentionally created us in a fashion more unique than a master piece like a Picasso; or quite possibly due to our inability to fathom that He has ascribed a greater value upon our lives than a one of a kind such as the Mona Lisa, we, in our humanity begin to distort our view of worth and value. Unfortunately for most, this paradigm will ultimately be the demise of their very own destiny. We do as humans do and resort to what is familiar. In other words we begin to assign value to what appears to be important or valuable to us rather than accepting God's perception of value and worth. Consider this example. We accept somebody such as Bill Gates as a person of destiny and purpose because of his global accomplishments and influence. He is important to you and me because he is the CEO of a multi billion dollar company and has affected the way our generation functions. Although this is true, in God's perspective, Bill is no more important than a house wife who is doing her best to keep an orderly and happy home. Nor is he more important than the person who throws newspapers in the early morning hours or a man who works multiple jobs to provide for his family. Yet, we have difficulty seeing all these lives as equally valuable. We may refer to those whom we view "ordinary" as Lloyd, Jim, or Nancy. They are the people who live such as you and me. However, when referring to the CEO of Microsoft we might call him "Mr. Gates". We reverence his influence and attribute value by our failure to see him as a normal guy like any one of us. He is Mr. Gates! He has affected the masses and we, well we haven't affected anyone!
In the book of Matthew we are given an insight to God's perspective. Jesus tells of a parable of three Servants who are all given "talents" by their master who was leaving for a long journey. They were each given an amount according to their ability. The first servant was given five talents, the second received two, and the last servant received only one talent. After much time had past the master returned from his journey and came to settle accounts with his servants. The first servant had multiplied his five talents and returned to His master a total of ten talents. The master praised him for doing so well and made him ruler over many things because he had been a great steward over the few things he was given. The second servant also returned to his master double the amount that he was given. He is also praised by the master and given the same reward as the servant before him. Take note that regardless of what was given, they were both rewarded exactly the same! Because they were faithful with all that was entrusted to them, the master positioned them both to be in charge of many things. Finally, when the master settles accounts with the third, he finds that his servant returns to him the same talent he was given with no increase. Because of fear, the servant had buried his talent instead of multiplying it for his master. The master then scolds his servant and takes what was his and gives it to the first servant who was originally given five talents. Then the master says something very profound, "For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away". (Matthew 25:29 NKJV) God seems to want to communicate to us an eternal perspective. In short, if we don't effectively multiply what we have been given, we will run what seems to be an unfair race, constantly losing what little we gain. However, if we are prudent with all that God has entrusted to us and multiply what we have been given regardless of how great or small, He will see to it that we live in abundance. Concisely, we see that regardless of what the servants were given; the master expected a return on his investment. According to God's perspective; it's not what or how much we've been given, God is looking at what we do with all that He has given to us.
Unfortunately, in a postmodern generation this doesn't fit into the paradigm of most communities. As a result a deception has offset an innumerable amount of people from the course of their destiny and purpose. We regard the "Bill Gates'" of the world as those with purpose and destiny not realizing that God retains the same expectation and hope for us. The funny thing is that we can't tell who has bought into this maligned paradigm. There are no real outward signs that appear to the obvious. They might be the parents you engage in small talk with at the school yard while you wait for your children to be released. Maybe, it is the person in the office next to yours, or your child's little league coach. It could be the couple that lives down the street, they have the nicest yard and the car that you wish you had. It could be your boss, your best friend from childhood, or your pastor. It's possible this person is your therapist, dentist, butcher or maybe even you.
This deception convinces us that we are insignificant and have little if anything to offer our generation. It causes us to measure our value by how we look to others or how we compare to the "Jones's". In the end we ultimately loose self esteem and do not see the importance in our life that to us seems so irrelevant. We don't have as much, we aren't as talented, we aren't in management, we don't have the portfolio and the list goes on. Yet, in generations past God loved to lay hold of those who didn't see themselves as relevant or significant. These are the people He chooses to be His leaders in the most significant settings in biblical history. Abraham cowered behind his wife, Isaac followed his father's example and did the same. Jacob was a deceiver, David an adulterer, Gideon unsure, Esther a foreigner, Jeremiah too young, Isaiah had unclean lips, Elijah became afraid and Samson was a "Spoon" (not the sharpest tool in the toolbox!) Moses was an adopted child of a slave; a murder who ran away from his problems and not to mention that God chose him of all people, a man who couldn't speak clearly to be His voice and speak to the leader of the greatest nation on earth at that time. Let me tell you, God would love to lay hold of you and me and sculpt us into the leaders of a generation that would become His mouthpiece and speak for Him in the schoolyard, in the office, at the dentist office, in the supermarket, at little league and in every one of our homes. Let's take a journey together in the search for significance and defiance. Together we can discover our significance in God through His eternal plan and purpose for each and every one of us. We can also uncover the key to defying the status quo of society and begin to live a Counter Culture life!