“Every Jim Smith is Unique”

July 28, 2008

~~~~ONTHISDATE~~~~

the educational part of F4F

1540 - Thomas Cromwell is executed on order from Henry VIII of England
on charges of treason. Henry marries his fifth wife, Catherine Howard,
on the same day.
(...and you thought your job was boring...)

1586 - First potato arrives in Britain.
(...the next year the first potato gun arrived...)

1896 - The City of Miami is incorporated
 

~~~~WISEWORDS~~~~

“To the world you may be just one person, but to one person you may be the world”

– Brandi Snyder

~~~~MOREUNANSWEREDQUESTIONS~~~~

Do you wake up or open your eyes first?

How fast do hotcakes sell?

Do woodpeckers get headaches after they slam their head against a tree all day?

Why can’t donuts be square?

Doesn’t a lightning rod on the top of a church show a lack of faith?

Why are men’s and women’s shoe sizes different?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Everyone is unique – just like you. You probably see the humor in that, especially if you are named Jim Smith. Earlier this summer, Pittsburgh was the host city of the four day Jim Smith convention. There is not only a convention but there is a society! It is called – that’s right – the Jim Smith society. There is only one requirement for membership – right again – you must be named Jim Smith. Currently it boasts 1900 members all named Jim Smith; and yet, every Jim Smith is unique. That’s today’s Fuel4theFire.

The human body is a fascinating study, so amazing in its design and construction. The Psalmist captured the wonder when he said, “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right wel.” (Psalm 139:14). As part of the human race, we have some things in common; we all contain the basic elements – sugar, salt, iodine, carbon, phosphorus, lime, calcium etc. We actually sound more like a list of flavors at Baskin Robbins than we do a human body! We used to say it amounted to 98 cents worth of chemicals. With inflation, the amount may have gone up – but the point remains the same. We are made up of nearly worthless stuff, but the life that runs through us is what makes us distinct and precious. In fact, every Jim Smith is unique.

While we have much in common with each other – we are all special too. Scripture conveys the truth of our worth and individuality to God by noting that He has counted every follicle on every head, and not just the 1900 Jim Smith’s; and not merely the nearly 7 billion people alive today – but every person who ever lived! “But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows” (Luke 12:7).

While we all have 263 bones, 400 muscles and 970 miles of blood vessels – every one of our fingerprints are the only one of its kind. No two fingerprints from different fingers have been found which are identical. This holds true even for identical twins and between right and left fingers. The uniqueness of a fingerprint can be determined by the pattern of ridges and furrows as well as the minutiae (detail) points. There are five basic fingerprint patterns: arch, tented arch, left loop, right loop and whorl. Loops make up 60% of all fingerprints, whorls account for 30%, and arches for 10%. It makes the point once again that every Jim Smith is unique.

I get two comforting thoughts out of this; first – in the immortal words of philosopher Red Green, we are all in this together. I’m glad we have a bunch of things in common. I want to share this life – with all of its tribulations and triumphs, heartaches and adventure, with someone who has been there too. That’s you! Our life experience has common threads running through it. When I go through the loss of a loved one – you can identify with me because it is an experience common to man. You can relate to the feeling of getting a new job or gaining a promotion – you’ve been there too.

The second, is that while we have much in common, there is no one quite like me, and no one quite like you; I enjoy that thought. Even every Jim Smith is unique. That makes me special – just like everyone else. What is it that makes each of us special? It is the personality and set of experiences that make up who we are. It is our nature and our nurture. It is the way we are wired and the environment we have lived in. God created you and gave you people that have much in common with you. At the same time God created you as an individual without a duplicate. You are rare and distinct. You have great value in the eyes of the One who created you.

Just think, every Jim Smith is unique, and so are you.

That’s today’s Fuel4theFire.

And remember … I love you guys.

Tom