Blog In Audio:
Greetings,
Today I am posting a portion of a blog from 2014. I felt stirred to repost this in light of us all doing our share, not to demonstrate ministry, but to be a witness of connection to God and to one another by the life of God’s Spirit. As I wrote last week, “love is the bond, but that love is God’s love and not love that is connected to our own self-seeking desires.” Each of us are who we are for the sake of giving life to others in our world.
Many people believe that what they do determines who they are in this life. This is the way of thinking in the world. Living for what we do is very self-focused and narrow-minded in fulfilling human purpose. People in the world seek to fulfill their own destinies, but they very seldom discover the greatness of living for the life of others. Unfortunately, this same thinking often prevails in the Church. Our thinking must change in order for us to live for God’s purpose in this world. We are all called to the hope of Christ’s calling, we reveal a testimony of His inheritance, and the power of Christ in us is meant to change the world beyond our own lives. This was the way of Jesus. He lived for a calling beyond His natural circumstances, He stood as a heavenly testimony of life in the midst of a dead world, and the testimony of the power of His life was seen in the changed world of others beyond His own natural days. His mindset was one of true authority. He knew that the will of God was who He was; therefore He could do whatever was necessary to fulfill His destiny.
Jesus didn’t come to die for our sins. He came to reconcile us to our heavenly Father, but He was willing to die for us to make that happen. He could do the will of God because He first knew that He was the will of God. He was the Savior of the world; therefore, He could do whatever was necessary to save it. We must embrace this same way of thinking.
Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Our minds are continually being changed so we can stand in the authority of life that God has given to each of us. No one’s measure of authority is less significant. Each and every one of us was born to bring life to others. Each and every person in this world has a value of being a one and only child of God. That value is not determined by what we do. It was determined by the price that God paid for each and every one. He gave His only begotten Son as the redemption value of each one. We must all value who we are, and we must seek to live life in the uniqueness of our own authority.
Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
To think of ourselves more highly than we ought, is to think outside of the boundary or sphere of who God has made us to be. We don’t need to become smaller so that others can be bigger. We need to be true to who we are so that who we are will bring life to those who are what we are not. We each supply life to one another. We cannot live in false humility thinking we are nothing; we must embrace true humility simply living for the sake of others within the boundaries of our own authority. We are all part of a corporate plan of life. Faith comes by hearing God, and it is in hearing God that we come to know who we are. We cannot do anything or be anything we want to be in life. We must discover who God says we are. This will fulfill our destiny in this world. Anything less is missing the mark.
Romans 12:4-8 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
We have each been given a combination of motivational giftings from our heavenly Father that serves the uniqueness of our ability to bring life to others. Those internal motivations determine our ability to function in various realms of responsibility. Those realms of responsibility are the place of our destined authority. Those who are motivated to perceive are not greater than those who are motivated to serve. Those who teach are not greater than those who are motivated to exhort others. Those that exhort are not better or less than those who are motivated towards mercy. Those who lead are not greater than those who join to their leadership for the purpose of God’s life in this world. We are each motivated to fulfill a measure of authority. That authority will bring life to others.
We must be true to whom God has made us to be. When we embrace who we are in life, we can bring life to others. We were created to bring life to this world!
Food For Thought,
Ted J. Hanson
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