NorthStar Community Daily Devotional

August 8

Scripture focus: Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don't be impressed with yourself. Galatians 6:4 (The Message)

Clearly, God has called us to be responsible to others. Denying ourselves in order to do for others is part and parcel of sacrificial love (remember when Jesus taught us that greater love has no man than to lay down his life for a friend?)

We are also taught the necessity of taking responsibility for ourselves.

If we're going to be responsible for ourselves – we need to know who we are and what work God has called us to do. Then we sink ourselves into that work.

We study our strengths and we assume that God gave them to us for a reason. Clearly, he didn't give us talents like the sarcasm gene or the ability leap tall buildings with a single bound for the purpose of being impressed with ourselves!

God's willingness to bestow particular gifts and talents on each of us is so that we can sink ourselves into becoming who he called us to be and doing what he intended for us to accomplish.

I'm a really good reader. I love to read. I not only love to read, I enjoy remembering what I read. My brain likes learning something and applying it in new ways. I've often pictured heaven as a giant library filled with good books, a roaring fire, and an over-stuffed chair with an ottoman. I don't think God gave me this ability so that I can be impressed with the fact that I can read a six hundred page book in the time it takes Pete to read an article in The Economist. I don't think the ability to read is a virtue – it's a gift.

However, if I can take this natural part of myself, take responsibility for nurturing this ability AND then use it to lay down my life for a friend – that's a big win. Not impressive, but a gift.

Pete may be a slow reader but he's quick to serve. Perhaps one of the reasons he falls asleep reading The Economist is because he was alert during the day, laying down his life for a friend by being a good listener, a diligent employee, an excellent emptier of trash cans, a patient tennis partner and a fully present father. He doesn't think what he does is impressive. But I do. He's a gift.

When we take responsibility for ourselves, this nurturing of our gifts and talents shouldn't leave us puffed with pride, but it should equip us to serve others well.

I wonder. As you make a careful exploration of yourself, what work have you been uniquely equipped to perform, and how does that work benefit others who are carrying a heavy burden?

Recommended reading: 2 Samuel 22-24

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