Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

One of the many joys of being a parent is witnessing the unique God given personalities that children display from a very young age. Prior to becoming a parent, I struggled with knowing how much of human personality was the result of nature (God’s creative design) or of nurture (parental influence). As my wife and I became parents of our first child in our 20’s, it was still unclear to me the degree with which God given temperaments were at play in human development.

But upon entering the arena of being a parent of more than one child, it became increasingly obvious that our three children all possessed unique personality traits. Although we made every effort to be consistent in our approach to parenting, our children would react very differently to our parenting. It became obvious quickly that although we loved our children equally, we would have to utilize a particular approach or discipline that was best suited for each child. In other words, we began to realize that when it comes to parenting, “one size does not fit all.”

In this discovery, we would even begin to make remarks to family members and friends that a particular child came out of the womb with a certain temperament. This life experience led me to begin to realize the following passage of Scripture described not just the physical development of the baby in the womb, but also the God given personality:

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:13-14 NIV

This week in the small groups at Southwest Church we have explored the unique personalities of the first followers of Christ. It has been encouraging to see that Jesus called, taught, and molded the characters of 12 very different individual. This realization leads us to recognize that regardless of our personality (extrovert or introvert; sensing or intuitive; thinking or feeling; judging or perceiving) that God has a plan for each of us because … we have all been fearfully and wonderfully made!