Colossians 1:16 All things were created by him, and for him.
You are a creature. Maybe you did not know that, but I simply mean that you are a creation. There is a Creator; that is God. There is a creation; that is everything you see. You are an individual, part of that creation, which makes you a creature. The Bible says of the Lord Jesus, “For by him were all things created.” He goes on to talk about things above your head and under your feet. Things you can see and things you can’t see were created by Him and for Him.
That means that God made you, and God made you for a reason. It is wonderful to be a creation. It is wonderful to know that I am God’s idea, I am by His will, I am by His design, and I live by His power. I am His creation.
Later, in verse 18 the Bible says about the Lord, “He is the head of the body, the church.” He is to have first place because He is the first. He was here before there was a here. He made this universe, and He made you. That leaves you with the very important obligation to take the time to cultivate the gifts that God has given to you.
Paul says, “[I am] an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God.” It was not as if Paul aspired to be an apostle. Paul was not an apostle because of his own ideas. He was of Jesus Christ and by the will of God. In verse 25 he says, “I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you.” He is saying, “I am made. I didn’t make myself. I am not self-made. I am made, and I am made a minister. God made me for a reason according to a stewardship.” The word “dispensation” means “a stewardship of God.” I am the recipient of this stewardship. To fulfill the Word of God is the purpose. I am to do what God made me to do.
Here is what you should remember: the things most worth cultivating are the gifts God has given. Now some people think they can sing when they really can’t. It doesn’t matter how many voice lessons they take, they just can’t sing. It is not their gifting. Other people don’t think they can sing, but it is just because they have never worked at it and cultivated it.
Now, if you don’t know whether you can sing or not, don’t fret about it. You just need to be willing. Just serve. You don’t have to be a professional to sing in the church choir. Just serve with a willing heart and an obedient attitude. Realize that whether you know it now or not, God gifted you in certain ways for a certain purpose. As you serve and as you are willing, you will find that you are cultivating more and more the things that do the most good to the most people and are the most glorifying to God.
Try everything initially. Try the things that interest you. God does give us desires for a reason. But just be willing. Don’t be so much ambitious as willing, and if there is a desire and God has put it in your heart, you will know that it is of God as you develop it and recognize it as a gift. It is a gift by God, but it is a gift and a stewardship to me that needs to be cultivated.
The things most worth cultivating in your life are the gifts God has given. The purpose is to help other and to glorify God.