Uniquely You
Today is Day 16 of DWG and it's all about being unique - uniquely us.
God created each of us and we are made in His image. At our core, our true nature is a reflection of everything that He is - His love, joy, beauty, strength, confidence, humility, power, peace, compassion, kindness, patience, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
Though we're all made in God's image, we are also very unique. I've always found 1 Corinthians 15:39-41 interesting. Paul was addressing the church in Corinth who denied that there is a resurrection of the dead. In response to questions about what kind of body the resurrected will have, he talks about the splendor of the heavenly bodies and the splendor of the earthly bodies. He says they each have their own kind of splendor.
In verse 41, he says, "The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor."
Splendor. I love that word. It means magnificent, beautiful, glorious. Every created thing has its own splendor. They are individually different and unique.
Look at the vastness and uniqueness of creation. There are amazing natural wonders of the world that we can’t even begin to explain. There are billions of galaxies and stars in our universe. There are millions of species of flowers, birds, fish and every living thing under the sun and each is unique in its own way. Snowflakes, when you catch and look at them, have unique shapes and imprints. Humans have all been created with our own unique DNA, fingerprints and physical traits. God embodies what is unique and special about all of creation because in Him, they were all created.
You and I have our own splendor. Even though we are made in God's image, we express it and live it out differently. We have our own life experiences, personality, gifts, talents, strengths, weaknesses, dreams, passions, calling, etc.
All of this together gives us our own unique mix and splendor. Though we may know people who are like us in some ways, they'll also be different in other ways. No two people have the exact splendor. Even siblings who are very alike are also very different.
Many of us don't like the way we look. We may want to be taller, shorter, skinnier, have curlier hair, different colour hair, a smaller nose, a bigger butt, less freckles, etc. But God created us as we are for a reason. It is our splendor and it is what makes us beautiful and unique. We can improve upon how we look, but why change what God created?
Many of us don't like who we are. We may wish for someone else's talents or we may wish we had someone else's personality. But, we have our own splendor. We just have to discover it and embrace it.
Isn't that amazing? We are the image of God, but we are uniquely us. What is unique about you? How would you describe your splendor? Love who God created you to be!