The gift of individuality

I was listening to Ravi Zacharias today at lunch, and he made a statement that really stood out to me. He said that our most unique gift from God is our individuality. He's given it to no one else. We should embrace who we are, own it - and then give it back to God.

Many times I find myself looking at the lives, ministries and talents of others wishing I were in their shoes. I realized long ago that no one's shoes fit them as well as they seem to. Life is always rubbing blisters and causing aches and pains that others may not notice. We've all heard, "Don't judge someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes." I think that applies not only to judging someone, but also to envying them.

God has blessed each of us so richly - and so uniquely. I love to see someone in their "element" doing something that truly enables their gifts and passions. It's almost magic to watch. Often times, those magical people are the rare, the few who go against the grain and pursue life with a different purpose and passion than the majority.

Too often we spend all of our energy trying to fit in or become someone else, that we completely miss the individual God gifted us to be. Standing out is scary and sometimes ridiculed. Rather it should be celebrated and embraced. If everyone stood out, no one would.

Christ stood out from the crowd, that's for sure. Yet He never withdrew from who He was (or Whose He was). His life had a purpose and He was confident in that. I think maybe we fight our gift of individuality because we don't understand it. We aren't sure what we are supposed to do with it, so we latch on to someone else who seems to have a cool thing going.

For me, I have to take a step back and rediscover who I am. Spend lots of time with God. The more time I spend with God and with me - the more clearly I can see who I was designed to be and what I was designed to do.