To be totally honest, I don’t think there are talents I would choose other than the ones I have pursued. There’s a sense of peace and contentment to be writing this into my 5th year of retirement and just a few months away from my 70th birthday!
As I shared in an earlier note my only regret was I didn’t pursue my musical talents a little more purposefully. My parents were happy and supportive of my musical abilities, but their emphasis was much more on academics and character development. Music, to them, was a bit of diversion from reaching my potential as an adult. At the time, most of friends were nurtured in the same way and music at best was a hobby. It was fine to be passionate about it, but other talents were more important.
As life would have it, I am glad for the path I followed. At a fairly early age, I really believed God had a plan for my life. If it included music, so be it. If it was another direction so be it! The path I would follow, music would play a great part in it, but my academic training, my character development and my leadership skills would be used to a greater extent throughout my life and especially in the ministry.
There is one physical attribute I often longed to have. To be about 2 inches taller would have helped me, and I might have been a better athlete. Sitting down I am almost as tall as most men. I just have short legs. Sitting down, I was actually taller than my father, but he had long legs and when he stood, he towered over me. It’s hard to find 29–30-inch length pants. My waist size has fluctuated around 32-33 inches, and it is healthy measurement. It is so much easier to find pants for a 32-inch waist and 32 or longer length. Most of my adult life my average weight was about 170 pounds. At 5’7” I always felt a little stocky as they say. My friends who were taller always looked more fit and athletic at the same weight. Who knows, if I was 2 inches taller, I probably would have been 20 pounds heavier too. It possibly was part of God’s plan. I might have pursued sports more vigorously making it harder to hear God’s voice calling me into the ministry.
Now in the years we have together, I am committed to helping your parents develop your God given talents, abilities and passions. As God wills, I am committed to supporting you even more than my parents and grandparents supported me. I hope to help provide you with the instruction and coaching you need to pursue your talents and abilities.
Along with that, I am also committed to helping you hear God’s voice and discern his will for your life. I have prayed for you since the day you were born. Actually, yesterday, Sunday, January 8, 2023, we celebrated Benjamin Paul’s baptism. Harper, you were baptized as well on Sunday September 20, 2020. Those are your earliest steps on your journey of faith in God’s love which was shown through His only Son Jesus of Nazareth. The most important part of becoming fully human and reaching your God given potential begins with acknowledging even with all your gifts and talents, you need a Savior. Jesus died to Save you from our broken human nature. He rose from the dead so His Holy Spirit could guide you on your journey. Allow Him to be your Lord and trust His will is best for you.
Here are some scriptures and truths from the Bible I hope and pray you will embrace!
By the time you are reading this, I hope you have learned the Lord’s Prayer. I hope it is not a prayer you have only memorized and can recite like a parrot, but it becomes the model for your prayers.
In Matthew 6:9-13 Jesus teaches His closest friends how to pray.
Matthew 6:9-13 NASB The Lord’s Prayer
9 “Pray, then, in this way:
‘Our Father, who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’
At the center of this prayer is submission to God’s will!
Over the course of my life following Jesus, I have come to an understanding there are two parts to the Will of God. There are truths which are GENERAL to all and then there are
SPECIFICS uniquely for the individual.
The general truths of God’s Will are much easier to discern. Here are a few.
Micah 6:8 NASB 8 He has told you, mortal one, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you. But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?
It’s not terribly hard to understand.
Here’s another.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NASB 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.
God’s will is really simple!
Jesus tells an important part of God’s General Will.
John 13:34 NASB 34 I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
Start with loving your parents, then your siblings, then your friends and finally love your enemies.
These truths may be the most important part of God’s Will for humanity.
Mark 12:30-31 NASB 30 and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
It gets even more radical and challenging!
Matthew 5:43-48 NASB 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may prove yourselves to be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors, do they not do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Even the Gentiles, do they not do the same? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
One of the greatest stories Jesus told tells us who our neighbors are.
Luke 10:25-37 NASB 25 And behold, a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.” 29 But wanting to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he encountered robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. 31 And by coincidence a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan who was on a journey came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, 34 and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return, I will repay you.’ 36 Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” 37 And he said, “The one who showed compassion to him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”
Jesus is telling the young man that the people group he hated the most actually showed love and mercy to a person who actually hated him. That’s love!
Those truths pretty much summarize what God’s General Will is for you and all humanity. Discerning his Specific Will for you is more of a challenge. It is a life long journey beginning with prayer. When you are making decisions, ask God silently to help you. Don’t base every decision on just what you desire. Ask God to direct you. Spend a few minutes each day asking for God to guide you. Reread one of the scriptures above to remind you of God’s General Will.
A scripture which has helped guide me is James 4.
James 4:13-17 NASB 13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” 14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. For you are just a vapor that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” 16 But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. 17 So for one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, for him it is sin.
It is challenging to know God’s will in every specific area of your life. At times, I think God leaves some of the decisions up to us. I learned my decision making process always needed an escape clause. While I was considering what I wanted to do, I tried to give God the last word. “If the Lord wills…” There were a few times I missed God’s will and I had to circle back and start again. Some decisions may have even affected the course of my, but it is amazing how much direction God gives even when a person isn’t really open to listening. Make your plans, but always give God the last word. There’s a clever statement that I like. “If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plan!”
Ultimately what I learned was the better I followed God’s General Will, the easier it was to know and follow his specific will. You may not fully understand this the first time you read this note, but over the years if you begin to embrace this, I fully believe you will find purpose and contentment following Jesus. When you do you will increase your chance of reaching your human personal potential, and your gifts and talents will shine!
Gee Sprague, January 09, 2023