Seven: A New Role
When you trusted in jesus…
We have all had a role to play, whether in sports, part of a club, at a job or in a school project. In these roles, we become part of a team—a group where you join with others to pursue a goal, often bigger than yourself. These goals can be exciting, like winning a championship, and other times important for your future path, like completing a group project well. On almost every team, each person has their own unique role to play, like a goalie in soccer or a point guard in basketball. At a job, you might be a CEO or shift manager or janitor (a.k.a. “Sanitation Specialist”). Although each person has their own role, their job impacts—often significantly— whether or not the team goal is achieved. Your personal dedication and performance can mean the difference between winning a championship or being runner-up, having a profitable business or closing the doors and receiving a passing grade or failing. Playing your role well is vital.
For those who’ve been part of a successful team and were able to contribute your unique skills and passions well, you know how rewarding this experience can be. A deep sense of meaning and purpose comes from playing your role alongside others of like mind and heart. It’s like a band—each person plays their own instrument with unique rhythms and notes, yet when done well, it produces music that brings people to smile, cry and dance. In this same way, people working together in any area of life, in a sort of human symphony, can produce and achieve outcomes that are meaningful and inspirational, well beyond moving melodies. When you trusted in Jesus, you started a New Role, a New Job. You probably didn’t even know that you applied for one.
Unlike other jobs, where you may not know if you’re qualified or a good fit, this role was handcrafted by God with you in mind. The Bible paints a picture of each of us being a part of a “body,” where Jesus is the head, and each person is a different limb, muscle or organ with a specific role to play. Just like the human body doesn’t function well if a part is missing, injured or damaged, so too it is with this “body” of Jesus followers. You’ve been assigned a particular role to play—whether shoulders, knees, or toes. This role was developed just for you and is critical to the well-being of those around you.
Not only do you have a new role that impacts the health and effectiveness of others, but you are connected to others in this body whose role is to help you! God has positioned people with all sorts of gifts, talents and abilities to encourage, support and strengthen you in life and faith, while you do the same for them. When you play your role well alongside other believers, it can be an experience that well surpasses competition or work, as your mission has truly eternal stakes. This is the new reality you have entered: A New Role, on a New Team, created precisely for you by the God of the universe.