Earlier this week at camp, we were introducing ourselves and after saying my name, I had the wonderful opportunity to share "a weird talent about myself." By wonderful, I mean not at all. Talk about a moment of panic when everyone else gets to share their favorite ice cream flavor or movie, and you get stuck with this?! If you're anything like me, the moment you hear that, your brain starts scramming to find something- anything really- that sets you apart. Can I do something unusual? I can't move my joints into weird positions. I can't paint works of art. I can't go unicycling down mountains (yes, believe it or not, that is a real thing). Is there anything I can do extremely well? I love sports, but I'm no professional athlete. I love to sing, but my ideal stage is the shower. I love working with animals, but then again who can't resist the big brown eyes of a puppy? Every physical talent I possess... When it comes down to it, doesn't seem so "weird." It doesn't seem to set me apart.
The more I began to wonder how I'm set apart- what's special about me- the more I began realizing I'm not set apart by one single talent, one single action, one single idea or thought. All of the things I'm passionate about, all of the things I enjoy and work at, the things I'm successful at or even fail miserably at- combined, they're all pieces of who I am as a person. Not only the things I'm great at but even the things I struggle with are a part of who I am. I'm not set apart because of a single talent I have. I'm set apart because every aspect of who I am is working to align with every aspect of who Christ is. I'm set apart from this world because I choose not to follow it, but instead choose to follow the footsteps of my Creator.
Showing relentless love to people the world deems as undeserving- that sets you apart. Forgiving people when they've broken you- that sets you apart. Being kind to the stranger next to you in the checkout line- that sets you apart. Its weird. Its unusual. But it shouldn't be, because if everyone lived the way God had first imagined, there wouldn't be any other way to live. That sets you apart because you aren't listening to what the world tells you is acceptable. You're following how you know Christ tells you to live. You are set apart because when you succeed, you point the glory straight to God. When you fail, you trust God to turn your mistakes into a testimony used- you guessed it- to glorify Him. Your life as a whole sets you apart because your life is centered not around yourself, but around the only one who is worthy.
What's my point? Don't let your success- or more importantly your failure- define you. You are special. You are unique. Not because of anything you've done to become so, but because of the God you live for.
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