Is it believed that God creates individuals with a specific purpose? How can one determine their purpose if it is similar to others?
I can only briefly describe a complicated issue as I believe it to be correct according to the Bible. I will be speaking in general terms. Very rarely, it would seem from Scripture, does the Lord call one for his service from the womb.
Ecclesiastes 9:11 I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
In general, there is no specific plan for an individual’s life. Men come into existence at conception. When two individuals come together to produce an individual, they create a new DNA sequence as a matter of “time and chance”. The DNA contains all the traits of the parents, their parents, and their parents, etc., etc. All the traits: good as well as all the mutations and corruptions, to the DNA. This too is the product of “time and Chance”. What traits, talents, and abilities, you inherit are determined by what genes get turned on or off, which take dominance. DNA is the book that contains all the information about your physical and mental composition. This is the product of “time and chance”, not predestination. It is God’s system of procreation at work. It guarantees the uniqueness of each individual.
To this must be added the environment a child is raised in. Are the parents loving or neglectful? Is the child abused, or bullied? Was the individual born in an industrialized nation or a third-world country? What type of education was provided? All these things are the result of “time and chance” and make individuals who they are.
Added to this is free will. Biblical free will is limited. Men have free will of desire, inclination, passion, aspirations, motivations, intentions, likes, dislikes, loves, hatreds. what we would like to do or would do if we could get away with it. Men can move or be moved to change these. Free will of action is more restrictive.
An individual may desire to perform an action; God will use the desire to act to execute his will. He may allow an act to be performed to deal with an individual using it to bless, correct, punish, or deal with another, or deny/modify the act, etc. All actions are controlled to perform the Lord’s will. But it is man’s desire, good or evil, on a personal and national level, that he guides and focuses for his purposes.
It is important to note that an individual has the ability to change or overcome some things: physical, mental, or emotional, by the will and desire to do so, depending on the strength of their drive.
Taking all this into consideration, God chooses whom he will, whomever fits his needs, for his purposes. Most of us are not called for any specific duty, but are expected to live according to God’s will and laws: love God with all your heart, and to love and do unto others as you would have done to you.
As a biblical Christian, this means to read and diligently study his word and prepare yourself to be able to be an effective witness of his saving grace to others. With this, we are free to pursue our desires by the Scriptures. The Lord will bless and aid you according to the heart’s desire toward him.
As I stated, this is a brief general description. It certainly does not cover every intricate detail of our becoming who we are or God’s dealing with us. It is an opinion based on my studies. I hope it helps.
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