You’re different. I mean, really different. There is no one exactly like you. And that’s a good thing.
You were formed to portray God’s likeness and filled to enjoy God’s presence. The best version of you will always be closer to God than further away from Him. The more we drift from knowing God and making Him known through our unique giftings, the more we are not at our intended capacity.
You operate best when aligned with God’s design. It benefits no one for you to be like each other, but what you need to strive for is to be like God. That was God’s original intention. The world flourished while this first couple maintained their commitment to represent God, but it began to fall apart when they attempted to replace Him.
While every person bears God’s image, we each display it uniquely. We share similar characteristics and certain propensities, but we are unique. We are different. And God made us be that way.
Every person is uniquely formed with features and intentionally filled with distinctions. This reality isn’t by chance either. God was deliberate. His intentionality cannot be overstated. He made every person to be unlike every other person. He took creative thought and precision to make you the way you are.
For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
(Psalm 139:13-14)
You are incomplete if you aren’t wonderful right now. The Bible teaches that God has a long-term strategy for our development. Through sanctification, God uses numerous catalysts in our lives to be more like Him.
Before you know where you need to go, you must assess where you are. Are you where you need to be spiritually right now? Most people would probably say they have room to improve. If you know where you are and where you need to be, you can better consider the type of people that you need in your life for improvement.
- So, how did God design you?
- Where is He directing you?
Those questions are essential to consider.
Knowing yourself allows you to understand the type of person you need to marry, the type of location in which you need to live, and the church you need to surround yourself with in life. You were made uniquely, and it will take a particular kind of people to walk alongside you for life. Without an understanding of how God made you, you might drift through life without any filter to your decision making.
God has uniquely designed you, and He has specific plans for your life. Are you aware of what that is? And are you sure that the people and environments that you are committing to are working toward that end?
Travis Agnew serves as the Lead Pastor of Rocky Creek Church in Greenville, SC. His most recent book is Just (About) Married.
