No One Else

From the book Speechless, written by Lisa Hoffmann (aka Alabastersky)

I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.
– Psalm 139:14

But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.” – Ephesians 4:7-8

Why would God choose to partner with us to reveal His glory on the earth?

You are prized and highly valued by God. Among all the people born on this earth, there is no one else exactly like you.  Imagine a river filled with stones.  Each stone  represents something different such as your DNA, your environment, your family, your placement in history, experiences, upbringing, education, your desires and dreams, likes and dislikes, triumphs and failures, and so on. As the water of life runs through the riverbed, each stone acts as a filter. 

In much the same way that a mother might decorate her child’s room prior to birth, so God has chosen to decorate your “river” with the placement of all those stones. As we learned from the analogy of the line in The Goodness of God, the outcome that pours forth is multidimensional. It immeasurably spills not only onto all those around you but also onto future generations, as your life when merged with the life of God in you is what touches each one and each is more unique than the pattern of a snowflake. There are certain things in this world that only you will do, certain people you will impact. A creative flow that is only yours to give, all hidden within Christ and a story only you can tell.

To discover the meaning of life is to discover who you are created by God to be, and how much He loved creating you. He does not make mistakes, and He delighted to create you in His image! I want to emphasize again how the very core of being human is that we are made in the image of God. It’s an image that bares the likeness of all that God is capable. Like God, you have free will. You have the ability to reason, the capacity to create, to love, and to forgive.

It is a challenge to fully grasp the process and time it takes to be restored to that image and how the Holy Spirit is just waiting for us to say YES to the daily restoration process. We want it to be instantaneous, bypassing any need to “walk it out”, but He is wanting to build within us the endurance we need to face and overcome the storms of life and the many deceptions of the evil one.

In our rush to perfection it’s easy to overlook that all of God’s revelation secrets are kept for his devoted lovers alone, sealed until they are opened to us by obedience, no matter who we are. Think of it as manna. God is still into manna! There is a reason it was fresh every morning and spoiled by the day’s end. Our daily “bread”, or provision, includes everything we need for today, for this moment. It cannot nourish us if we don’t take it!