God has wired me differently than He has wired you.  It may be true that you and I are the same gender.  Or live in the same city.  Or drink the same kind of coffee.  Or are passionate about similar ministries.

But at the end of the day, I have different gifts than you do.  And you have different gifts than I do.  And that’s a good thing.

3For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. 4Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.  -Romans 12:3-8

Our staff at Grace Community Church just talked through our results from Strengths Finder.  It was cool to see the varying gifts and passions that God has uniquely given the staff here.  Over the next few posts, I’ll share my strengths with you.  I don’t share them to make much of myself, but to make much of God, the giver of all good gifts.

These descriptions aren’t perfect for me, but they’re pretty close.

Learner:

People who are especially talented in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want
to continuously improve. In particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome,
excites them.

What makes you stand out?
Instinctively, you normally dedicate yourself to acquiring knowledge and gaining skills. You
probably devote many hours to mental labor. Because of your strengths, you can block out
distractions when you are working or studying. You are seldom pulled away from a task. You
probably desire to understand ahead of time what needs to be done. You also expect to
receive background briefings and/or a list of a project’s criteria. Armed with this information,
you move closer to your goal. With ease and certitude — that is, having no doubts — you
determine what is and is not important to know about an activity, event, or project. By nature,
you habitually bring together all sorts of information so you can refer to it later. At the instant
you collect a fact, example, story, or piece of data, typically you are eager to use it. You trust
it is valuable. Your fascination with knowledge has probably been part of you even before
you formed the words to ask your first question. It’s very likely that you might prefer to
enroll in a difficult class rather than register for the easiest one. Perhaps comparing how well
you are doing in relation to others has meaning only when you earn the best grades in the
hardest courses. To some extent, you crave recognition for your knowledge and winning
spirit. Chances are good that you may be an individual performer who signs up for tough
classes. Perhaps your desire to excel is amplified when the only path to a good grade is a
steep one.

Do you see yourself at all in this description?