One of a Kind--by Linden Malki

You are the only one of you that has ever existed in the history of humanity.  Everything God makes is one of a kind: and we are no exception. I was reminded of this today, three of my four kids and most of their families were here for an early Mothers' Day lunch. Thinking back  it became  obvious that each one of them was different.  The farthest off a main curve is my younger son. He was writing and drawing as soon as he could hold a pencil, and was part of a youth drama team we had at what was then Calvary Baptist  20 years ago (that also included Pastor Chris).  He is still writing and drawing, with several books and weird stuff online--he can take an idea places that constantly amaze me.

Some of the most interesting people out there are Individualists.  They could be thought of as God's "wild cards", that are often called to fill a special niche in God's plan. We read the 3000 year old story of Saul, who was God's choice as the first King of Israel. He was an outstanding soldier and general, From what we know, he was also a good father--his son Jonathan was also a gifted soldier and true friend; one of the very few good fathers we have in the whole Old Testament.  However, he did have some of the same problems that are common to individualists--he had a tendency to act impulsively and unwisely, and was subject to depression and anger.

David, his successor, was also a talented military leader. He unfortunately was a unwise father whose sons were trouble for him, his complicated family, and the nation. Even the son who was blessed with God's gift of wisdom made unwise decisions, and David's grandson compounded the disaster by losing the loyalty of the northern tribes, who became a rival nation that lost their relationship with God. Their descendants became the Samaritans, who were a continuing problem for several centuries of  Judean history. 

Scattered for the next 2000 years of the history of the Church and of the world  we find occasional individuals who, like King Saul, stood head and shoulders above their contemporaries. Some of them were great servants of God, and some were enemies of God's people.  The history of our world has been affected by great movements of societies and nations, and many of them are the stories of individuals who have left long shadows for both good and evil--religiously, political, artistic, literary, as well as those who have not used their special talents well.  God has always used people of widely variable gifts and talents; one of our responsibilities is to recognize and develop the potentials of all His people.