I know the pursuits and desires of men and women differ, but I think all people want to believe they are special in some way. I am writing this from a man’s perspective, since that is the only perspective I have. I hope the points I bring up here have some application for women as well.
It is clear to me that most men want to be recognized for their accomplishments. This trait becomes evident at a very young age. How many boys do stupid stunts on their bicycles or on the gym in the playground to get the attention of young girls and respect of the other boys? Later in life we move on to other feats to prove our physical prowess, if we have the ability. If we don’t have the physical abilities to excel in sports, we prove ourselves through academics or the arts. If we don’t have physical, academic, nor artistic abilities we become troublemakers. I was a short skinny kid, near-sighted in one eye, far-sighted in other. My lack of depth perception made it very difficult for me to catch or accurately throw a baseball. To this day I can throw a rock at almost anything, and miss. So, as you can guess, I pursued the arts, and academics rather than sports. As us men grow older we still want to be recognized, through sports, business accomplishments, the ability to attract beautiful women, our artistic or academic achievements, our excellent family raising skills, or for our criminal activities. One way or another, we want to be noticed. We want to be seen as special. We want to have an impact, either positive or negative.
Where does this desire to be seen as special come from? Is it just human pride? I think there is more to it than simple human pride. According to Matthew 10:29-31, we are very valuable to God, in a very unique way. He has numbered the hairs on our head. That requires very detailed knowledge, and very close attention, to each of us! It goes without saying that since we were created in His image, after His likeness (Genesis 1:26) that we are quite special. God’s knowledge of each of us began before we were conceived (Psalm 139:13, Jeremiah 1:5). We were fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). What does “fearfully” mean in this context? Was God afraid He might make a mistake? I don’t think so. I think it may mean that God understood the significance of His creation of every single one of us. He had a great respect for each of us as he made His plans for us and created us. These truths are deeply ingrained within us, and reinforced through His words to us in the Holy Bible. I believe we seek to get validation of these truths during the course of our life. It seems to me that all our attempts to make an impact, to stand out, are our attempts to validate these truths. We want evidence that we are special.
But if all of us are “special” then doesn’t that mean that none of us are special? No two people are identical, even identical twins are not truly identical. So in that sense we are each special, like how each snowflake is different and therefore “special.” But just the fact that we are different does not fulfill our desire to be special. It falls far short of validating what the Bible says about us, and what I believe God has imprinted upon each of us. We don’t just want to be different, we want to be the best, at least the best at something.
I believe God created each one of us to fulfill a unique role in His plans for the human race, and creation in general. I also believe that He created every one of us to fulfill a unique relationship with Him. That is why He numbered our hairs, that is why he knew each of us before we were conceived, and that he created each one of us with reverence. It is beyond my comprehension that God can have so many “best friends,” “most valuable players,” or “very important persons” since I always have favorites. We each have a different role to fulfill, and each of us is uniquely qualified to fulfill it. No one else can satisfy the relationship needs and achieve the objectives that God has in mind for each of us. I expect in addition to our relationship with Him, we have relationships with others on earth that we are uniquely qualified to fulfill. We are the best at doing what we were put here to do, no one else can do what God specifically has designed us to do.
Finding validation of our uniqueness is something that we may not achieve during our lifetime. Living in a fallen world means that the consequences of sin tend to overshadow and blot out the truths that God wants for us to realize in our daily activities. Relying upon tangible accomplishments or the feedback from other are not reliable measures. We control only a fraction of what it takes to accomplish goals. People’s opinions are not necessarily objective. I think the only thing I can do is believe, truly, deeply believe, that as long as I honestly pursue His plan for me that I will be doing those special and unique things He created me to do. It will probably only be when I’m in Heaven that I will see what makes me stand out. There is a movie, “The Five People You Meet in Heaven.” It was about a maintenance man who believed he lived a completely ordinary and unimportant life. It turns out that he meets people in Heaven that show him the wonderful impact he had on the lives of many people.
.If I believe I have a unique purpose, and I pursue His will, then I’m certain my life will produce good fruit, even if I don’t get to see or taste it until I leave this earth.
The photos are several I have taken here at the lake, attempting to catch the beauty and serenity and share it with others.
