I know what you might be tempted to quote Philippians 4:13 here, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” First I’d ask you to remember that this implies that Christ will empower you to do what He wants for you to do. You can’t flap your arms and fly for example, and while I know that is an absurd example, you know that’s just the kind of thing your unbelieving friends will throw at you if you quote that verse. Do I believe Jesus could do that if He wanted to? Unequivocally yes, but I also really question why He would want to. An besides that’s not what I’m really talking about.
Some people tell their children, they can do anything they set their mind to. This too is wrong. I will never be able to dunk on Lebron James, no matter how hard I try. What these parents should be doing instead is looking to their child’s unique gifts and talents, and prayerfully guiding them to find and use those gifts to the glory of God. If we believe we are designed by a loving God, than our gifts, talents and even godly passions can be a good sign to where we should be directing our efforts in this world. Now this is not to say we don’t try other things, sometimes we find hidden talents in this way. I for example was terrified to speak in public, and ended up becoming a preacher. Looking back however, I see my fear of speaking was more the result of abuse from my classmates, and if I look to my earliest memories, I see a passion for storytelling and other creative means of expression. My talent was not so much hidden as it was buried for a time by outside influences. God has gifted each of us, and sometimes it’s a matter of digging that talent up.
But still you can’t do everything. Even in my gifting, there are areas of strength and areas of weakness. I believe this is also by design. None of us were designed to be a “one man show.” We were designed for relationship and community. We who are in the church see this concept explained clearly in Paul’s writings on the body of Christ. Our strengths are designed not just for our use, but that we might help others and our weaknesses are designed to show us our need not just for Christ, though that is paramount, but also our need for others. We weren’t designed to be alone. You can’t do everything…
Thank God!
AMOKArts 