To Be Unique

"There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. ⁵There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. ⁶There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.

⁷Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. ⁸To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, ⁹to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, ¹⁰to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines." 1 Corinthians 12:4-11

What a wonderful weekend! It is always such joy to spend an entire weekend worshiping and praising God, and learning what He's saying to the body of Christ today. This morning as I woke up, while I'm physically exhausted from the weekend, the biggest part of me is actually a bit sad that it's a plain old Monday. Someday the day will come where we will spend time in His Glory, and we'll never stop.

There was something that really stuck out to me this weekend, and that is how God has truly made each one of us unique and special in our own way. As I would watch people worship, I noticed that no two people worshiped in the exact same way- there was something different about each person. As we had different speakers come up and share God's heart, each person had a completely different way of speaking, and a completely different message- but yet each message worked with the others to tell the story of how much God loves us.

It just struck me as something truly remarkable how God made each and every one of us so incredibly different, and yet we all work together in such wonderful ways! The whole chapter of 1 Corinthians 12 talks about this very thing- how we are each important to the body of Christ- and I highly recommend you take some time to really read this chapter in the Bible.

"The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" ²²On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, ²⁴while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, ²⁵so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. ²⁶If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it." 1 Corinthians 12:21-26

Each part is important- there isn't a single one of us who isn't important to the body of Christ as a whole. Think about that! YOU are important to the body just the way you are! One of the things I was thinking of this weekend, as I spent time with all these wonderful people was how I appreciated the uniqueness of each and every person. I can't even begin to name all the ways these people struck me as unique this weekend. You know, once upon a time, I would be one of those people who would walk around wishing I could be someone else. I would see someone else do something incredible and wish that I could do that too- and then I would see a different person doing something and wish that I could add a touch of that as well.

But God made me exactly the way He wanted me to be so that I would fit into the exact place in the body that He has prepared for me. And as He wants me to change and adjust He will place the desire in my heart for that change. Before man was even created, God knew the role that every single person was going to have in the body of Christ. That is a remarkable thought- God planned your role before Adam and Eve even walked on the earth.

And so I just wanted to share this reminder this morning that there is no such thing as a person who can be discarded- or a job that isn't necessary. It is just as important to be that person who sharpens pencils as it is to be the person who gives the message. Both people fulfill vital roles and both people serve the God Most High. That person who picks up the litter in the parking lot between services is just as important as the worship leader. Both people are using their God-given abilities to take care of what God has told them to take care of.

There is no such thing as an unimportant person, and I think when we start to think like that- when we start to look over the crowd and see our family- our co-heirs with Christ- instead of the individuals we appear to be, we will make great strides in coming together in unity. God designed us for unity. He designed us to work together in perfect harmony, it's just that sometimes a few of the parts may need a little encouraging along the way.

So be encouraged. Fulfill your role- no matter how small it may seem to you. There is no such thing as a small role in God's Kingdom, and when you do your absolute best with the small part He may have assigned to you for now, you may find yourself with something a little more important to do next time. But no matter what, do your appointed task with all your heart, in honor to The King. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords is pleased when you do your very best in His service. And He loves you. He loves you so much that He created you to be exactly who you are today.