Puzzle Pieces, Self-Esteem, and Making a Difference
What difference can I make?
If you're human, you've probably asked that question at some point in your life. The short answer is, you won't know until you actually do. I'm reminded often that I may be fairly objective about many things, but much less so about myself. In fact, that's always true of anyone. We have the worst perspectives on ourselves.
We also, much too glibly and naively, accept other's opinions about us, especially from sources we know we shouldn't trust. Society. "Everyone else." "Most people." This is a sure way to have a warped sense of worth and value. Don't go to those on the periphery of truth; go to the One in the middle of it. If there is such a thing as truth, there must be a Source of that truth. The people who know truth are those who are connected to the Source.
In this case, the truth is that we (and I mean each one of us) can make more of a difference than what we could ever imagine. This difference-making potential is magnified when we are serving Him, for His boundaries for growth and mission are endless.
In the last year or so of my life, I have made a difference in many ways that I thought I never would. Touching lives. Speaking truth. Encouraging growth.
Now that I have done some small things, I can't go back to doing nothing. I exist to make a difference. I have something to offer that no one else can give, something to do that can not be done by anyone besides me. I have a place in the world, a niche shaped by God. With Him, I fit. Without Him, I am like a jigsaw piece without a puzzle.
The same is true of you. Until you get a taste of "fitting," you will have no idea that everything could align so well. The next time you wonder about your own worth and ability, don't ask, "What difference can I make?"
Ask, "Lord, what can I do today?"
If you're human, you've probably asked that question at some point in your life. The short answer is, you won't know until you actually do. I'm reminded often that I may be fairly objective about many things, but much less so about myself. In fact, that's always true of anyone. We have the worst perspectives on ourselves.
We also, much too glibly and naively, accept other's opinions about us, especially from sources we know we shouldn't trust. Society. "Everyone else." "Most people." This is a sure way to have a warped sense of worth and value. Don't go to those on the periphery of truth; go to the One in the middle of it. If there is such a thing as truth, there must be a Source of that truth. The people who know truth are those who are connected to the Source.
In this case, the truth is that we (and I mean each one of us) can make more of a difference than what we could ever imagine. This difference-making potential is magnified when we are serving Him, for His boundaries for growth and mission are endless.
In the last year or so of my life, I have made a difference in many ways that I thought I never would. Touching lives. Speaking truth. Encouraging growth.
Now that I have done some small things, I can't go back to doing nothing. I exist to make a difference. I have something to offer that no one else can give, something to do that can not be done by anyone besides me. I have a place in the world, a niche shaped by God. With Him, I fit. Without Him, I am like a jigsaw piece without a puzzle.
The same is true of you. Until you get a taste of "fitting," you will have no idea that everything could align so well. The next time you wonder about your own worth and ability, don't ask, "What difference can I make?"
Ask, "Lord, what can I do today?"
posted by Luke at 4:17 PM
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