SHAPE

We have all heard of the dreaded "MIDLIFE CRISIS" -- the feeling of change in our identity. The same is true of when we are twenty: college kids asking themselves, "Who am I? Where do I belong in the world? What should I do with my life?"

Do not get me wrong, these questions are important; however, the way that our society looks at the questions, as well as how they find answers, is a little "out of whack."

We look to our family for answers, thinking that they might know where it is best for us to go. One problem lies within this answer -- our family is just as fallible as we are. They know just as well as we do what will happen in the near future. They cannot tell us any better what to do or where to go than the answers that we ourselves can develop.

We look to security, whether it be financially or any other form, for answers. But can we be certain of what the future holds? We cannot know if the person we are dating now will be our wife or, if they are, the liklihood of divorce. We ourselves cannot predict security.

But finding your identity is crucial; in fact, it is the first step in finding where God is calling you. Rick Warren, the author of The Purpose Driven Life, recently spoke about this topic at Urbana. He concluded that there is a simple mnemonic device to help us find our identity -- SHAPE.

Spiritual gifts: gifts given to you upon the Holy Spirit's entrance into your life.

Now, there have been tests to figure out spiritual gifts; however, one cannot truly identify their spiritual gifts without experimenting. For instance, someone may have never taught before, but that does not mean that they do not have that spiritual gift. They could have it, yet they have not tried it. Experiment. Find your spiritual gifts.

Heart. What are your interests? What do you enjoy doing? God has placed these passions in you. Recognize them; use them for His glory.

Abilities. Not to be confused with spiritual gifts, abilities are given at birth, not rebirth in the Spirit. There are numerous abilities, far too many to count -- athleticism, musical ability, etc. All can be used to glorify God, just the reason He placed them inside you.

Personality. Are you an extrovert or an introvert? God has uses for both. This is an important part of our identity. It determines how we react to certain situations.

Lastly, but perhaps most importantly:

Experiences. We all have our different experiences. Just because we were somewhere together does not mean we have the same experiences. People take in situations differently; we have different reactions. Experiences shape each person differently.

Now, we have our fair share of "bad" experiences. What is the best thing about these experiences? God uses our worst experiences to help us the most. Think of one of your worst memories. God had a plan for it. I have been able to recognize this more over the last year than I have ever been able to before.

Look inside yourself -- who are you? Really, truly, and honestly? Do not try to see yourself as others do, but look at yourself as God made you -- the identity that He gave you in your SHAPE.