Stop me if you’ve heard this before: “And God saw that it was good.” All throughout genesis 1 we see God, our Creator, pleased with his work. I mean EVERYTHING he made he called either good or very good. That’s a flex if I’ve ever seen one. There are times where I’ve thought to myself well of course it’s good. God being all-knowing and all-powerful, how could He in all His divine wisdom possibly make something bad? Fair. But what if I told you we were also made to make good things? That’s right, you and I flaws n’ all were made to make good things just like our Father.

Don’t believe me? If we keep reading that same chapter in Genesis it says “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Genesis‬ ‭1:27‬ ‭ESV‬‬. There it is right there plain to see and inverted for emphasis — He created you and I to be just like Him. In Ephesians He says “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Ephesians‬ ‭2:10‬ ‭NLT‬‬. Not only are we made in His image but we’re His work of art created specifically to do “good things”. Got it?

You may be asking, what good things has He called me to do? Honestly, I have no idea what God has placed inside your heart. I just know He has given everyone a purpose and equipped us to run the race set before us. Do you remember the parable of the talents? “To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.” Matthew‬ ‭25:15‬ ‭ESV‬‬. In the story, the talent is actually a monetary unit of measurement. Like a brick of gold. But another way to think of those talents are as gifts or skills. Not quite gold, but still valuable. We all have them. Some people more than others, but all of them good. How do we know? God says “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” James‬ ‭1:17‬ ‭ESV‬‬. As we read along in the parable, the master comes back looking for his money. The ones with 2 and 5 use their talents —their “gifts”— and double the amount. Hearing this the master is proud saying ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’” Matthew‬ ‭25:21‬ ‭ESV‬‬. Different talents, same initiative, but notice the same response? He calls them both “good”. 

The master wasn’t looking for some spectacular result. He was proud of their effort. The master saw they had willing hearts to step out in faith and steward the gifts He had given them. But the other guy, the servant with 1 talent,  hides it— burying it out of fear. So the master gets mad saying “Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest.” Matthew‬ ‭25:27‬ ‭ESV‬‬. Now if you’re me, it’s easy to think “Wait, he didn’t lose it though. He got everything back. What’s the problem?” Well, he didn’t try either. In other words, he was given a talent—a gift—to USE. It may not have seemed like much, but had he simply used it, even a small increase would have profited his master. And if he wasn’t going to try he could have at least given it to someone who would. That’s eventually what happened. Because he saw it as insignificant, he lost it. The master took it and added it to the one who started with 5. That’s true for us too. If we don’t use our gifts, God will find someone else who’s willing. There are like 8 billion of us. Trust me, He’s got options. These gifts are tools for us to use for His glory. What good is a tool if you don’t use it? No matter what it is, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,” Colossians‬ ‭3:23‬ ‭ESV‬‬. The NIV says it this way “with all your heart”. That means with everything you’ve got — do your very best whether you have 5, or 2 or just 1. At the end of the day, it’s all for Him!
So what gift has God given you to use? What thing has he placed on your heart to do? Whatever it is, know that God thought of you and designed you specifically to do it for His plan and for His glory. Get to it!