July 17, 2025

Imaging God : Exploring Your Unique, God-given SHAPE (Part Two)

In part one of this two-part series, we began exploring our identity, purpose, and role - rooted in Genesis one.

If you haven't read it yet, you can find that article here. Today, we're going to take our learnings a step further.

The truths outlined in part one bring us freedom and clarity. We can live in the truth that whatever we do can be done for the glory of God. Whether building homes, washing dishes, feeding people experiencing homelessness, or reading a story to our children, every action is an opportunity to represent our Creator.

However, the question remains: How do we live this out practically? What actions does God want us to take to fulfill our God-given purpose?

At Scatter, we call these ‘roles’, and our SHAPE informs them.

If God created every human being with the sacred purpose of representing Him on earth, it follows that each person has the potential to fulfill this purpose in all aspects of our lives, as there is no other reason for our existence.

Moreover, if our sacred mandate is to care for and cultivate all that God created, humans must be able to do so effectively. He creates individuals who can design order & structure and bring these concepts to life in buildings or city plans. He creates people who can pass on knowledge attentively and passionately to ensure the next generation can thrive and innovate. He makes people who can transform sound into beautiful music and artists who can make colors come to life in a painting that inspires and calms. He equips people to become skilled professionals capable of performing surgeries with precision. Innovators with the mental acuity to devise new solutions and develop technologies are equally vital, as are those with the patience and dedication to plant and harvest crops, improving yields and nutrition through new varieties. Additionally, individuals who can lead, care for, and envision great communities are essential.

In Ephesians 2, Paul highlights an important truth:

“For we are His masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which He prepared in advance for us to do.”

Here are three key points from what Paul is saying:

1. He created us for a purpose - Paul echoed Genesis 1 and 2, reminding us that He created us with intention. He designed us for ‘good work’.

2. We are not an afterthought - In the context of Ephesians, this emphasizes that God's purpose for us was determined “before He made the world” (Eph 1:4). Our role in representing Him and continuing the good work He started was established before time, making it our sacred and sole purpose in the world.

3. He made each of us a Masterpiece - We are a beautiful and precise depiction of what is in our Creator’s mind. We are works of art that God declares as the best representation of His handiwork.

Even before creating the world, God envisioned the work he wanted us to do and designed each of us uniquely so that we can accomplish it. Each person possesses a unique SHAPE to fulfill different roles.

The world God created needed cultivating and care; it had trees but no buildings, sound but no music, and raw materials in the hills (Gen 2), but no jewelry or sculptures. It had color but no paint.

Image Bearers were given a world as it was meant to be, but not as it was meant to stay. Each one now uniquely SHAPE’d to cultivate and care for our piece of the world as if God's very hands and heart were doing so. The world needed farmers, shepherds, artisans, musicians, builders, engineers, teachers, and more.

Paul tells us that God knew this in advance and crafted a masterpiece in humanity, with each of us uniquely SHAPE’d to fulfill this good work. If this is true, then to understand how God wants us to fulfill the unique purpose He has given us, we must discover how He has SHAPE’d us. Our SHAPE determines how we can best care for and cultivate what is in our space.

Spiritual Gifts

Heart /Passions

Abilities

Personality

Experience

Spiritual Gifts

We are each given spiritual gifts when we choose to follow Jesus. Every believer has one or more gifts provided by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12:7). Paul tells us these gifts benefit others in the body of Christ.

Heart/Passions

What sets your heart on fire? What causes your heart to break, feel great delight, or deep sorrow? The things that bring you joy or deep sorrow are placed within you intentionally by God. Lean into them. Embrace these passions, as discovering and pursuing them can change the world.

Abilities

Unlike spiritual gifts, which the Holy Spirit gives, abilities are inherent talents we are born with and develop over time. These may include skills in music, art, athletics, or working with numbers.

Personality

How are you wired to interact with others and perceive the world? Are you more outgoing or reserved? Your personality is an integral part of how God designed you.

Experiences

What significant events have shaped your life? Consider your educational background and the experiences (good and bad) that have contributed to who you are today. Your experiences have purpose.

Our unique SHAPE equips us to understand the good work that God desires for us to engage in.

• Our SHAPE equips us to participate in uncovering Shalom.

• It allows us to take on multiple roles, which we all have.

• Many combinations = Many different ways to live it out.

Now that we understand how we are SHAPE'd to fulfill our roles, it is essential to highlight a few important points to ensure we do not lose sight of the freedom God has given us in our identity and purpose.

Roles exist to give form to how we live out our purpose. We all have numerous roles in life. Perhaps you’re a teacher, a husband, a sister, a designer, a business owner, a soccer coach, a friend, or a neighbor—the list is endless. Each role reflects our unique abilities and passions, which are God-given gifts. None of these roles represent our purpose; they are merely forms or avenues through which we may fulfill our purpose.

As a spouse, for example, we want to represent God within that relationship. Do our partners experience love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control through our actions? The same applies to each of us as friends, leaders, neighbors, or business owners. These roles are not our identity or purpose; they provide opportunities for us to represent God, offering a glimpse of his goodness in each of these spaces.

We hold multiple roles in our lives, and they will often change. Looking at the list of example roles above, you may be able to relate to more than one. You might be a parent, friend, sister, and business owner. Each of us has the privilege of representing God in our unique roles.

One thing is certain: our roles WILL change. For instance, when we marry, we take on the new role of a spouse. Alternatively, we will navigate a new professional role if we switch jobs. For this reason, it's essential not to tie our identity or purpose to any single role.

Roles are neither our purpose nor our identity. This is a trap much easier to fall into than we might think. We often search for our identity and sense of purpose in our roles. When we feel a lack of purpose in our lives, it’s tempting to look for it in our jobs, families, or hobbies. However, we often end up feeling unfulfilled, craving something deeper.

Consider how we define our identity: It’s often tied to what we do. We might say, “I’m a teacher,” “I’m a nurse,” or “I’m a parent.” But what happens when those roles change? What if we lose our jobs, or our children grow up? When we base our identity or purpose solely on our roles, our world can feel like it’s collapsing when those roles shift, leading to despair, as we may feel we have lost our purpose.

The good news is that our true identity and purpose remain intact, regardless of our changing roles. We must release the idea that our roles must carry the burdens of our identity and purpose, as they were never meant to bear that weight. Holding onto this belief can distort our understanding of who we truly are.

Be cautious of allowing one role to overshadow the goodness of God displayed in another role. This can happen in any sector, but it is especially common in the church and missions. It's easy to elevate “ministry” roles to a status that overshadows our true purpose. For example, if we view our role of a pastor or missionary as the most important, our other roles may suffer. As a result, our roles as husbands, wives, mothers, or fathers can be downgraded and neglected. Consequently, our families may miss out on experiencing God’s goodness through our lives because we are often absent or present only in body.

Written by Andrew Scott