Personal Potential

In his classic book on self discovery and personal awareness of intrinsic value, Russell Conwell's "Acres of Diamonds" emphasizes the enormous wealth and potential of every human person, and the often misguided search for wealth and purpose, outside of the resources and abilities that individuals already have. He uses numerous examples of real persons, who sold their property to search for diamonds, only to have a wealth of diamonds discovered on their previously owned property; sold their property to chase down oil, and yet the new owners discovered massive oil reserves on the land they gave up. The message of the book is that you already have what you need to be enormously successful financially, and in every area of life where you have passion, it is a tragedy to squander that untapped resource, in pursuit of what you already have.

To even enlist your personal resources and energies, in pursuit of developing who you are and what you have, you must first be convinced that you have value and purpose. The wandering generalities in life, that know no joy or fulfillment, do not see their own personal value, and so do not tap into developing their giftings and talents beyond merely scratching the surface of potential.

We are all created in the likeness and image of God, but that being said, there are few that develop that image and likeness to full potential. There is a word in the Greek translation of the New Testament called (harmartia). It was used in the Greek tragedies to describe the hero's weakness or faults, that could lead to his downfall to the antagonist. By definition, it means "to miss the mark", and describes the visual imagery of shooting arrows; spears; or darts, at a target, but not quite realizing them strike the intended bull's eye. This "missing of the mark" only results in frustration, unless careful practice and instruction leads to the development of consistent realization of the goal, in hitting the intended target that is aimed at.

This word (harmartia), in the New Testament, is most commonly translated "sin". Though all shortcomings are tragic, the most significant failure in life, is to "miss the mark" of our intended purpose and reason for God creating and allowing our existence. It is the ultimate failure in life to not only lack focus and purpose for existence, but to rob those family; friends; and even generations, of the potential personal benefits with which we have been entrusted.

Rather than living in "sin", choose to discover the untapped resources; the personal potential; the purpose; and reason for your existence. Why are you here and to what benefit are you to yourself; society; family; community; and the world. You are not here by accident, nor are you reading this by chance. Choose the pursuit and acceptance of your true value and God given purpose in life.

You Are God's Best and God's Best is Yours