Transformation Begins Here (#007)

You have a unique design, a special bent given to you by God. This design affects every area of life.

Proverbs 22:6 tells us, “Train up a child in the way they should go, and when they’re older they won’t depart from it.”

Pastors and spiritual leaders teach that this verse promises a spiritual boomerang of sorts— “Raise kids with a moral compass, in the Christian faith, and— even if they sway away in their teen or young adult years— they’ll eventually return to the faith.”

Thankfully this dynamic occurs. If— and when— we veer off-course, God calls us back to Himself. However, this verse highlights another truth entirely.

The word-imagery in the original Hebrew language of the Old Testament relates to buildings— of blueprints and architectural designs. Solomon (the author of the verse) contends that in the same way engineers and craftsmen create cities and skylines with intentionality and purpose, so also God takes the same care in His craft of creating people.

In effect, this Proverb tells us, “Your child has a specific design, a purpose all their own. Identify that when they’re young. When they’re older, they’ll walk in that purpose. And they’ll be all the better for it.”

In other words, “Train up a child in their unique design, according to their blueprint…”

It still applies…

Many adults aren’t sure of their purpose. Remember, though, all adults were once children— and were given (by God) a unique bent, a specific design. We each have a blueprint.

f you don’t yet know your design, it’s never too late to discover it, so you can walk in it. Remember, this is an important area of repentance— of seeing things from that different perspective.

Keep in mind that...

• Design determines destiny. When you understand how something is made, you understand what it was created to do.
• Walk through the tool corral in a hardware store and you’ll quickly observe: there are hundreds of different kinds of tools. And, they each serve a different purpose. In fact, they were each invented for a specific purpose.
• In every instance the truth is the same: Once you understand what the tool was created to do, you know what to do with it.
• To use the metaphor above, you’re a tool. I’m a tool. And when we understand how and why the tool was designed, we know what to do with it.

Gifts of the Spirit, the Son, and the Father

Seven different designs highlight the Father’s intentions for each of us. They describe how we were each made (and, thus, link to our purpose).

Many believers are familiar with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The manifestations listed in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 empower us to serve beyond our natural capacity, working in the power of the Holy Spirit (NJKV):

But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

The Son also has gifts. The five-fold ministry offices listed in Ephesians 4:11-13 are people whom Jesus gives to the church in order to help the people in the church find and fulfill their purpose. These “embodied” gifts (read: these people) help us reach maturity (NKJV):

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

The Father also has gifts. Romans 12:6-8 highlights seven motivational tendencies which describe our innate tendencies to interact with people and circumstances in unique ways (NKJV):

Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness….

What does this mean for us today…?

Well, the gifts of the Spirit arrive when we're baptized in the Holy Spirit. And, the gifts of Jesus are the leaders given to the Body of Christ to help others find and fulfill the purpose God has for them...

But the gifts of the Father are for everyone. We receive them just for being born.

That is, they are part of that unique deisgn give you you... that special bent you have...

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