Misfits

Have you ever taken the DISC personality test?  I recently took it for the Living Life by Design retreat.  I took it before I went and then it was used in helping us find out our design--how God created us.  It was VERY enlightening for me!!  I've taken lots of personality tests in the past, but this one is so much more detailed and gives way more insight than I've ever had into myself before.  In fact, this morning, I went back to review my own pattern to see if I could gain more insight (if you knew my personality type, you'd know this is hysterical---because it's a reflection of who I am anyway).  I didn't just review my own personality, though.  I was thinking of my family members and trying to figure them out, too.  (Insert laughter)

The conclusion I came to is this:  WE'RE ALL A BUNCH OF MISFITS!  Seriously!!  Why in the world would God leave His kingdom plan in our incapable hands??  If dependent on us, this world is doomed, without hope, destined for failure.  Each personality type has some gross weaknesses, judgments, fears, and overuses.  And we all have blindspots--weaknesses we don't even realize are there.

But then...hope moved in.  We can't do it on our own--and we weren't left to do it on our own!  Without the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, the best we can do is try to be better.  But with the Holy Spirit at work lopping off some rough edges, developing and growing His fruit in us, quieting our hearts with His truth, and leading us...we can become a force to be reckoned with.  And put us together collectively with the Spirit of God doing all of those things, we stand out.  All of a sudden, the unity and love between a beautiful myriad of personalities submitted to the Spirit of God makes the world sit up and take notice.  We were destined to change the world...together.

We weren't meant to be Lone Rangers.  Jesus told us, "By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."  One of his last prayers was this, "...that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent me."  By our love and unity, we are reflecting the kingdom plan of God--so that the world will know that we are His disciples and believe that God sent His son.  It's us TOGETHER through the power and unity of the Holy Spirit that the kingdom message is understood.

So now...instead of being misfits, we are being fitted together, growing into a holy temple in the Lord and are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.  (Ephesians 2:21-22)  And that's a beautiful, 3-dimensional, multi-colored, multi-faceted, well-fitted display of the glory of God.  And the world needs to see THAT.