The frustrated young boy said, “My older sister is an artist and my older brother can build and fix stuff, but I’m not good at either.” The wise elder responded, “Why are you looking to your siblings to determine your talents? Have you thought about what YOU really like to do?”
How often in life do we compare ourselves to another to determine if we “measure up.” It happens both individually and corporately. Countless times I have been in discernment with folks and the default lens is a comparison with someone else.
Likewise, I have spent time with countless faith communities and, when we begin to talk about what they believe God is calling them to, it often is a description of the “church down the street.”
What I, personally, have found most helpful are two sign posts in our sacred story. The first is in Genesis: ” …in the image of God, God created them…and God saw everything that God had made, and indeed it was very good.” (Genesis 1:27-31) And the second is in the letter to the Romans: “For as in one body we have many members, and not all the same body have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us.” (Romans 12:4-6)
We have gifts that differ as God has created us. It seems to me the sooner we can embrace the uniqueness in which God has created us, both individually and corporately, the sooner we will be the people God is calling us to be.