“There are certain things in this world God has for you to do — and you are just the right person to do them.”

All Christian parents desire that their children follow God; that they be what God wants them to be and do what he wants them to do. As parents, Laurel and I want to affirm to our children that they are important to God. As Larry the Cucumber says, we want them to know that “God made you special, and he loves you very much.” We want them to believe that their mission in life must be tied to his purpose — even driven by it.

Initially, I felt that it would be good to tell them that God had important things for them to do when they grow up. But in my own ministry, I have learned that what God considers important is not always what we consider important. Moreover, why should a child wait until he grows up to begin to fulfill God’s mission in his life? Often, adult Christians feel as though God wanted them to do something earthshaking, but they are doing the mundane. If we could see things through God’s eyes, we would see that the mundane is often the most important. And we would see that fulfilling our calling doesn’t have to wait until we grow old. We should be looking for what God wants us to do now.

Rather than set my children up for a let-down by telling them God has “great things for them to do” when they grow up, I tell them he has certain things for them to do. Some might be ordinary. Some might be awesome. But they are all from God, and he expects us to do them. And he has made each of us the right person to do these things. Now.

While no one has, someone might object to this adage, citing the reality that none of us is “just right” until God redeems us and transforms us into who he wants us to be. I would agree completely. Still, each of us is “just the right person” to be transformed into the person God wants us to be and to accomplish what he calls us to do. God’s not looking for someone else to fulfill your calling. As a person grows toward Christ and in Christ, it’s important to see that God wants to use him or her, not another, to do the things he desires and to live the days written in his book (Psalm 139:16). There are certain things — big ones or little ones — in this world that God has for you to do. And you are just the right person — it won’t be someone else — to do them. ~~Steve