A friend shared a quote that spoke to my heart…
I believe the key to being who God meant you to be is based on who God says you are.
Who does God say you are?
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. –1 Peter 2:9 (NIV)
Does your heart know that YOU are a most special possession of God’s? He created you and loves you so much that He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light. You are God’s chosen one, and He considers you royalty. Because you experience the goodness of God, your life declares praise and glory to Him.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. –Psalm 139:14 (NIV)
Does your heart know that YOU are fearfully and wonderfully made by God? He created you and fashioned you in your mother’s womb. God made you unique; there is no other human being exactly like you. All of God’s creations are wonderful and that includes you!
For the Holy Spirit makes God’s fatherhood real to us as he whispers into our innermost being, “You are God’s beloved child!” And since we are his true children, we qualify to share all his treasures, for indeed, we are heirs of God himself… –Romans 8:16-17 (TPT)
Does your heart know that YOU are God’s beloved child? God is your Father and the Spirit continually reminds you of your belovedness which needs to reach your heart. God lavishes you with signs of His love daily by sending you different treasures whether it is in the beauty of nature or providing people to journey with.
If you truly live as God’s chosen one, knowing you are fearfully and wonderfully made and are His beloved child, wouldn’t your life be on fire for God and the world? When you embrace the reality of your goodness in God’s eyes, the fire of His love starts flickering.
How can you fan into flame that fire and set the world on fire?
*By praying and studying Scripture.
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. –Colossians 4:2 (NIV)
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. –2 Timothy 3:14-15 (NIV)
God has given us two special ways to keep in constant contact with Him. Prayer is communication with God; a time to share our hearts in conversation sharing about the things happening in our lives and praying for those in need. When we read Scripture, we grow in wisdom as we learn more about God and the plan He has for living out our faith.
*By following the two greatest commandments.
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” –Matthew 22:36-40 (NIV)
Jesus came to show us how to love God above everything else and then how to love our neighbor. By living out the two greatest commandments, we are sharing God with all we encounter. God is love, and we, made in His image, are love too. What a privilege it is to emulate and share that love.
*By sharing our unique gifts.
Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. –Romans 12:4-9 (NLT)
We all have a unique toolbox of gifts that God has given us. As a valuable piece of the Body of Christ, we need to share our special gifts with the Body. Our lives on this earth are the time we get to explore and grow in discovering and sharing our gifts to build others up.
Photo courtesy of Sharon Tate Soberon under Creative Commons License (CC BY-ND 2.0)
Be encouraged this week to…
…embrace fully your identity as God’s chosen, wonderfully made, and beloved child of God.
…set the world on fire through prayer, Scripture, loving all, and sharing your unique gifts.
…fan into a greater flame the fire of God’s love.
REFLECTION:
What do you need to work on to embrace your identity in God?
How can you ignite a greater fire in the ordinary of your day?
“I have come to set the world on fire, and I wish it were already burning!” –Luke 12:49 (NLT)
