Set Apart and Appointed

By Jon Walker

"I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my spokesman to the world." (Jeremiah 1:5)

Of all my teachers in school, the most influential was Judy Black, my English teacher at Miami Killian High School. Because of Judy, I can still recite the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet; I know the significance of Xanadu; and I know one of the things that attracted me to my wife is that she looked like she’d just stepped out of a Pre-Raphaelite painting.

But the greatest gift Judy gave me was the confidence that I was shaped to be a writer. She believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. For years, when few people read what I wrote, she encouraged me. She still writes to me regularly, asking me to report on the progress of my novel (25 years in the making – someday, Judy).

In Jeremiah 1:5, we’re taught that God created Jeremiah to share the Creator’s message with the nations. I believe God shaped (appointed) Judy Black to share her enthusiasm for English and literature with public high school students like me. I now believe God shaped me to share my writing with othe

rs (thank you, Judy); and I believe God created you to share yourself with those around you.

We are all diminished if you hide yourself under a bushel, keeping your skills, your talents, your insights, your joy, and your pain hidden from others. God wants you to share yourself; he created you with a uniqueness that enriches the world when you give yourself to the community around you.

Ask God why He created you and what you’re supposed to give away. Whose life will you influence by giving your time and talent? Maybe you’re a great singer, or a great cook, or a great mechanic, or a great teacher. Whatever gift God has given you, he gave it to you to give away in service to him.

So what?

• God gave you life; now give – You were created to share your life and talents with the community around you. Whatever gifts God gave you, he gave them to you so you could give them in service to him.

• Find a way to share – What is your talent? What is your passion? Whatever it is, ask God to show you ways to share it with others. Tell God you want to be used by him to bless those around you, and then begin to actively watch for the doors he opens.

• Say thanks to one who shared – No doubt someone in your life was influential to you, just as Judy was influential to me. Maybe you haven’t seen or heard from that person in years or maybe that person lives in the same house as you. Regardless, talk/call/write/visit that person and say thank you – “Thank you for what you shared and for the way you so deeply influenced my life.”