Like around 2 billion other people, I spent Friday watching the Royal Wedding, of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. I was particularly struck by the opening line from the address by the Bishop of London, the Rt Rev Richard Chartres. The line was this:
“‘Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.’ So said St Catherine of Siena whose festival day it is today.”
This got me thinking – how do you become who God meant you to be? I am sure there are many answers to this, but the following were top of my list as I thought and prayed about it yesterday:
- Love God and follow Him
- Serve others
- Develop close relationships and accountability
- Identify, grow in, and use your gifts
- Give generously
Love God and follow Him (Matthew 22:36-38)
This has to be fundemental to everything we are and all that we do. Jesus made it clear that loving God was our top priority.
Serve others (Matthew 22:39)
In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus makes loving your neighbour as yourself number 2 on the list after Loving God, so we should take this seriously and look for ways to love and serve others.
Develop close relationships and accountability (Acts 2:42-47)
The Bishop referred to marriage in this context, but it doesn’t have to be marriage. In the New Testament, people were “saved and added” into the church community. Our culture is very individualistic, but Christian culture is far more community orientated. We make an individual response to Jesus and then we’re expected to follow Him in the context of community.
Identify, grow in, and use your gifts (1 Corinthians 12:7)
God has given every Christian at least one gift, often more. We have a responsibility to discover what this is and use it/them to the Glory of God.
Give generously (Luke 6:38)
Giving generously helps to ensure that we put God first, at the very centre of our lives. Generous giving is also a great antidote to the very materialistic culture we live in.
I am sure there are other things you might add to this list, but this is my initial offering. Live like this and be who God meant you to be. You could set the world on fire!
You can download a sermon based on this theme from the Jubilee Church website here.
Graham Pyman 