Our Roles

Daniel 1:17
“And as for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every kind of literature and expertise; Daniel even understood all kinds of visions and dreams.”
This is cool. God equips us for the ministry and service that He wants us to enter. These guys were big deals. Most are average. Paul talks about our different roles in the body of Christ. He uses the analogy of a human body. He first stresses the importance of all parts. I Corinthians 12:14,15 says, ‘For the body is not one part, but many. If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any less a part of the body.’ Yes, these four were quite important, God sees all of us as so.
The world has a different message. The beautiful, the gifted, and powerful are the ones who are highly prized. Young people seek to be those. There is all sorts of compititon among them to reach the high status. Anxiety and depression become a problem because of this.
God’s message is different. He wants us to be comfortable and confident in our present gifting. We are to take His message seriously that He values us. The devil works contrary to this. He tells us we are nothing. He highlights our mistakes and gives us shame. 2 Corinthians 2:11 says, “in order that Satan should not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.” Don’t focus on our mistakes or on how big or little our role seems to be. God sees us as valuable.
He goes even further by highlighting the lowly. I Corinthians 12:21-23 says, ‘And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again, the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, it is much truer that the parts of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; and those parts of the body which we consider less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor, and our less presentable parts become much more presentable”‘. That is awesome. We don’t see our inner organs. However they are quite important.
This again points out God’s kingdom and how it is opposite of the world. He exalts the lowly. God sent His Son to be born of common parents. The witnesses were poor shepherds. He was raised in an area that was seen as undesirable. We shouldn’t worry about our apparent low state. Quite the opposite, glory in it. Knowing that He loves us and is proud of us.
We are to give love and approval to the lowly. Bless them. Ask God to give us His eyes when it comes to seeing value in others.
As we are walking with Him He will bless the role we are in. Fruit will come. John 15:5 says, “I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains in Me, and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” As we look to Him and obey, He blesses our lives with fruit.
While the devil and the world will leave us frustrated and empty, following the Lord leaves us blessed and happy. We get purpose as we walk and serve Him. He gives us a reason for living. This is so good.
Lord, thank You that You equip us to roles that suit us. We are to be content and glory in it. We are blessed as we do this. Thank You.