"What Makes You You?"

 

“What Makes You You?”

Part 1: Introduction to Your S.H.A.P.E.

 

God loves variety. Think of His creation of water and land, mountains and valleys, animals that swim, fly, crawl and walk and especially people. In Psalm 139:13-16 David describes himself as an original (“…You shaped me first inside, then out….”—Verse 13, TM), complex (“Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!”—Verse 14, NLT) and purposeful (“Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.”—Verse 16, NLT). So we can each say, in the words of Bill and Gloria Gaither, “…I’m something special, I’m the only one of my kind.”

Every one of us is uniquely created in God’s image and is “one of a kind” as described above. Pastor Rick Warren calls this our S.H.A.P.E. based on Job 10:8: “Your hands shaped me and made me….” (Emphasis added). This acronym reflects five areas which blend to make each one of us distinctive. These include….

Spiritual Gifting—divinely bestowed abilities which equip us for ministry (“Each one should use whatever gift {he or she} has received to serve others….”—1 Peter 4:10).

Heart—what excites us and/or prompts our passion (“…As {one} thinks in {his or her} heart, so {he or she} is.”—Proverbs 23:7, NKJV).

Abilities—our human skills (“…I have filled him {i.e. Bezalel, chief builder of the tabernacle}…with skill, ability and knowledge…Exodus 31:3).

Personality—our distinctive inner qualities which distinguish us from others (“…Esau became a skillful hunter…while Jacob was...staying among the tents.”—Genesis 25:27).

Experiences—what’s been participated in ourselves or observed in others (“…All those words which were written long ago are meant to teach us today; that when we read in the scriptures of the endurance of{men and women} and of all things God gave them in those days, we may be encouraged to go on hoping in our own time.”—Romans 15:4).

We’ll be exploring these qualities in the next five articles. Remember there are probably billions of possible combinations that make each of us who we are. So don’t worry about being like someone else (except Jesus)—let’s just be concerned over being what God wants us to be and making Him look good,

 

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan