“The ultimate reason God assigned me to any position was because he could best use that position, at that time, to accomplish his purpose of shaping me into the image of Jesus.” – Jeff Iog

When I first read this, I must admit that I was a bit shellshocked. I sat there with my iPad in my hands a bit stunned. What? You’re kidding me, right? After some thought, I began to reflect back on my life and think through a variety of situations. I can remember my days growing up on the farm back in Amboy, Indiana — my college days at Indiana University—Kokomo and Ball State University. From there, my  journey took me to Lake Station at Edison High School. Finally, I land at Living Stones Church in Crown Point.

All of those seasons and experiences brought different challenges. Some of those challenges were more pleasant than others. However, my primary reason for being there, at that specific point in time, was not because there was something I brought to to the table that made me stand apart from the others. When I was teaching at Edison, I was there for one primary reason. Notice I say “primary” reason. There are many reasons that God places in different places at different times. However, the PRIMARY reason was for my own growth.

I have come to grasp the idea that God has placed me at these various places because this is where he could best make me more like Christ. Does God want to use me to impact the world? Does God want to use me to mentor, train, and pastor people. Absolutely! But before any of that, God is interested in my heart. He’s interested in me growing into the image and character of Jesus Christ.

Are you embracing the current role, position, place, and people you are surrounded by in order to become more like Christ?