A Holy Discontent

Every single one of us has been created with incredible detail.

From the color of your eyes, to the length of your toes, to your ability to draw, or write, or put a ball in a hoop, to mix elements in a lab, or solve complex math problems, or to understand computer programming, astrophysics or engineering.

Each of us have these unique gifts and abilities that stem from the calling or purpose that God has placed on our lives. 

What’s yours? 

I mean, deep down, isn’t that what we’re all truly craving to know?

Sure, culture bandages our purpose with materialistic dreams: We tell ourselves, “make money, marry mr. or mrs. right, live in a mansion, be completely independent, travel extensively.”

And somehow we believe that life is the good life. That a life like that is a life of purpose, importance, and significance. 

But is it?

When you lie down at night, is it money, or a spouse, or a type of house that eats at you?

Or is there something deeper?

I believe there is. 

My mentor calls it a, “holy discontent.”

That there’s something deep within our soul that says, “this isn’t right! And I want to fix it. I want to help. I want to make this right.”  

What is that for you?

Where do your natural gifts, talents, and abilities intersect with the ache inside your soul?

What if God has perfectly positioned you to not just use your gifts, but to use them in such a way that it makes an eternal difference in the lives of others? 

Could it be so?

In the Scriptures, the Apostle Paul writes about the way in which we are gifted and what we are to do with those gifts.

He states, “For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others…” (Romans 12:4, NIV).

What he’s saying is that the Church, this community, is like our physical bodies.

Take inventory of your body right now. Think about all of the different aspects of your body which do different things.

Eyes to see, ears to hear, a nose and mouth to breathe. Each of these body parts work with other body parts to form a healthy, functioning body. Right?

Think about it. Eyes to see. Light comes in through the eyes, and that light is processed by the brain, which in turn processes what we’re seeing in front of us.

Ears to hear, but not just to hear, but to balance. Inside our ears is what’s called the labyrinth or the inner ear. This part of our bodies helps our body to stand on balance and not topple over under the pressure of gravity.

A nose and mouth to breathe. Think about a breath.

Inhale and exhale.

That all comes and goes through what? Our lungs.

Different parts of the body, all doing different functions in unison, to ensure the health and vitality of the whole remains intact.

Paul is saying that this is what Biblical community is to look like.

That we’re not individualists trying to make the biggest name for ourselves.

We’re not insecure or afraid of our gifts for fear of rejection or being ostracized.

We’re not embarrassed or unimpressed by our gifts because we’re in constant comparison with others and their seemingly amazing gifts.

Rather, we are grateful and delighted by the gifts God has given to us and the unique invitation he’s extended to each of us which together, brings about Heaven on Earth.

May it be so in us, we pray.