by Daniel Goepfrich
– We live in a world that celebrates specialists. It seems that nearly every industry has an infinite number of areas with people who specialize in just that area. Now that doesn’t mean they can do nothing else. It means that they have chosen to focus their time and energy to do one thing well, instead of trying to do everything and doing it poorly.
Sports, law, medicine, writing, building, teaching, the arts, technology…and those just are the obvious ones. If you were to start your own business, the opportunities are endless!
“But,” you might say, “I could never be a specialist. I don’t have the right credentials. I’m just a regular person. Specialists are, well, special.”
The sad truth is that many people — possibly including you — have bought into that lie. In fact, you are a specialist already, and there is a niche market that desperately needs you to open your practice.
How do I know this about you? It’s actually very simple. First, God created you uniquely. Psalm 139:13 says, “Certainly you made my mind and heart; you wove me together in my mother’s womb.” Your personality, your passions, your talents, and your life experiences are a unique mix that no one else has ever or will ever have.
Second, if you have trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior from sin and spiritual death, then God has also assigned you a unique mission in his Church and uniquely enabled you to fulfill that mission. He has chosen you to help other Christians develop their spiritual lives in a way that only you can do. In Romans 12:4-6, Paul said, “For just as in one body we have many members, and not all the members serve the same function, so we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually we are members who belong to one another. And we have different gifts according to the grace given to us.”
You bring something to the table that no one else can offer, and that makes you extremely valuable. It also means that, if you’re not practicing, a lot of people are missing out.
The world doesn’t need more “regular people.” We need more specialists.
You’re a specialist. How are you helping your church impact the world in your area of expertise?
Originally published at 2 Timothy 2:22