There is so much of a tendency in today's society to "fit in with the mold"...but what is interesting, is that there seems to even be a "mold" so to speak Ewithin Christian circles. There seems to be this belief that if all of us aren't living the same "type" of life that the other believers we are in fellowship with then something must be wrong. But lets think about that for a moment...did the twelve all have the same lives? Did Moses and David live the same life? What about Job and the Apostle Paul? Or how about Esther and Rahab? Did they all come from the same backgrounds? Did they all sin the same way? Did they all stand for the Lord the same and did they all go to the grave the same? No! Well the same with us...God doesn't have the same plan for each of His kids, He has different plans, different trials, and different ways to refine and sharpen us for His glory and kingdom. There is no "mold" other than that of Jesus Christ and that is the one mold we should want to fit into. The thing is, it takes different refining processes to fit into that mold.
Recently I have become very fond of Ephesians 2:10 which says, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. " God has SPECIFIC good works that He has created us to do while we are here on earth. The good works He has prepared for me to do are different then the good works that he has prepared for you, your pastor, your best friend, or your mom...God uses us in different ways and for different things. We have strengths, talents, and gifts that God has given us in order to make us more effective for His glory and the furthering of His kingdom. Thinking about this and meditating on this truth has brought me such joy and such encouragement...I am always remembering that as I have that Luke 14 (any place, anything, any time) attitude that He is going to use me in ways I could never have imagined. And how amazing that is; I am always blown away that God chooses to use me, little old me for His purposes!
I know I have wrote blogs about this before, but I really truly believe this is something that we need to consistently be meditating on as well as trusting in as not to get weighed down or discouraged not only by the world but also by other Christians. Romans 12:15 says, "Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn." That means that when we look around at other believers and see God blessing them we need to rejoice with them and thank the Lord for the abundance of blessings He has showered upon them. Instead of being envious, or covetous, or wondering why God isn't giving you the same life that he is giving your brother or sister you should be praising and rejoicing the Lord alongside them for fulfilling His purpose and plan through their life; all the while keep reminding yourself that You are HIS workmanship and He has prepared good works for you to do too...your life may not look the same as the Christian's life next to you, in fact it won't but when you keep your eyes fixed on Him (Hebrews 12:2) it will be the most amazing thing you can fathom because God is working in you to make you more like Jesus!
All that to say, if you are one of His I can guarantee that the way your life has panned out is VERY different then what you may have expected. God has thrown in trials and blessings within the mix of our walk with Him to produce character and hope in Him (Romans 5). If you reflect on how you "planned" or "expected" things to go and think of how it has worked out I can also guarantee that it is 100x better than you could have imagined because you are more like Jesus today then you were 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 years ago. We need to stop trying to fit into the "molds" that we make in our mind of what our lives are supposed to look like and instead live seeking Him alone and TRUSTING in His plans.
"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.." (Matthew 6:33)
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Thank you for writing this! Well said. I've found that sometimes when we are judging ourselves we can come to this conclusion that we shouldn't compare ourselves to others, but when it comes to how we judge others we still want to compare them the the "greats" in the faith. God's plan for each of our lives are as unique as our personalities and life experiences. How often we don't understand what He's doing in our own lives, so we need to not judge how He's working in someone elses!
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