Recently I checked out one of the self-proclaimed "highly-anticipated" fall tv show premieres No Ordinary Family on ABC. While this is not a blog about my opinion of the show, I did learn something from the pilot episode that I'd like to share with you.
About halfway through the first episode, there is a scene where the main character Jim is exploring his newly found superhuman strength. The scene takes place on a rooftop where Jim's friend and confidant George is helping him imagine the endless possibilities of these new powers. George explains to Jim that most superheroes can fly, so he probably can too. However, Jim is not so quick to believe. George encourages him to get a running start and leap from the building. Despite believing that he can fly, Jim quickly finds out that he can not.
Setting the tv show aside, the situation got me thinking. Many times, we end up doing, or attempt to do, things that we've been told we should or should be able to do. Let me try and explain what I mean using my own life as an example.
My grandfather was a pastor for 30 years. My dad has been pastoring for over 10 years. It may just seem natural for me then to be a pastor. Maybe for you, you come from a family of doctors...or musicians...or teachers...or whatever. Perhaps you've even heard "it is in your blood."
Just like George thought Jim should be able to fly because "most superheroes can fly," you've been told what you should do or should be based on the life that is happening around you. However, Scripture tells us that God has created each one of us with a specific plan.
A good example of this is the prophet Jeremiah. In Jeremiah 1:5, God says to him, "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations."
Here's the point: just because your grandfather was a doctor, and your father was a doctor and your brother is a doctor, doesn't mean that you should be a doctor. If God has created you to be something else, then that something else is the best thing you can be. So, do what God has created you to be passionate about.
Philippians 2:13 says, "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure."
If your are good at something...if you are passionate about something...God put that inside of you. He created you to be that way. He didn't make you passionate about art and then expect you to live without using that gift. He didn't make you good at something and expect you to not do that thing.
Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart."
He put those desires in your heart and He wants to use them. You don't have to be what everyone else thinks you should be...you have to be what God created you to be.
Jim doesn't have to fly because his friend thinks he should. He just has to use the strengths he has been given.
You don't have to be a doctor. A pastor. A farmer. You have to discover what God put inside of you and then be the best you that you can be. This world needs you: that is why God created you. Just be you....for Him!
Posts
