Here are a few thoughts I had this morning. You may recognize the line of thought if you've read Parker Palmer's, "Let Your Life Speak"...
Limitations and Potential
Jesus said, “With God, all things are possible.” That is not the same as one popular saying today that says, “You can be anything you want to be if you set your mind to it and work hard enough.” What Jesus was saying was that on your own, you have many limitations. The second saying, an American Dream, says that you have no limitations.
The American Dream is a myth that has encouraged many people to be rich and ‘successful,’ but has also left many more disappointed, depressed, confused, and angry. It ignores the very real limitations we have and raises peoples expectations (and pride) to ungodly heights. It also has more to do with getting than giving.
The Jesus Dream, however, is that our identity, our sense of story and purpose, would be formed, not on our own, but by our Creator. To have your identity and sense of purpose formed by someone else is not the American way—we decide who we are to be. Yet, we have often proven that ‘he who directs his own life follows a fool.’ Jesus said that those who are wise build their lives upon his direction and teaching.
When we recognize the fact that we do have limitations, we are free to discover our true potential. We are free to discover that the potential of a God-directed, God-empowered, God-filled life is truly full of possibility. We are freed to engage ourselves in the things that God has called us to do, trusting that he will provide for us beyond our limitations—for God’s ability is without limitation.
It may seem strange, in thinking about gifts and abilities, to consider our limitations as a gift. Many of us need to be convinced that we have some wonderful gifts and abilities to be used for the benefit of others. Many people do not think they have much to offer—or else, they think that there is no place for them to offer what they have. Often all they see is their own limitations. It seems to me, however, that God has a pattern of finding the most limited people to get involved in what he is doing. Yes, even your limitations are a gift because they give God opportunity to demonstrate how great his ability—and his love—truly is. Paul heard God say to him, “My power is made complete in your limitations” (2 Corinthians 12:9, paraphrase).
Your limitations are also a gift because they create space for God to provide through the abilities of others, and vice versa. Did you ever think that your abilities were not given to you to make you great, but to provide for someone else’s limitations? And did you ever think that someone else’s abilities were given to provide for your limitations? Your God-given limitations give someone else the opportunity to share their God-given abilities. The God-given limitations of others give you the opportunity to share your God-given abilities. God has called us, all people, to be together so that we can provide for each other where there is need. In one sense, it is in this way that all our needs are met in God—through the God-given abilities present in one another.
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