Calling Out the Good in Others

I've been reading The Hobbit and one thing I've noticed is the idea of recognizing qualities in other people that they don't see in themselves. Gandalf choose Bilbo long before Bilbo thought he would be of any importance. But somehow Gandalf saw that Bilbo had courage, love, commitment, and ingenuity. Gandalf knew that these qualities would come out throughout the adventure and would be important to his companions.

How often do we not recognize important qualities in ourself until someone else mentions them. I think about when my pastor was in Liberia. He was talking to a group of boys at a school there. He asked one of them what he wanted to do with his life. His friends answered for him saying oh he is going to be a doctor. Then they spoke of someone else saying he is going to be a teacher.

I think about how this has happened in my own life. I knew that I have never really minded praying outloud, but I didn't really know I was good at it until someone told me. I have never really liked speaking to adults, but come to find out, I'm not bad at it. I've been giving short devotionals for our Upward Basketball games and several people have told me I've done a good job.

I suppose this is yet another important reason to be part of a church, and specifically a small group within a church. We aren't really good about recognizing some of these positive qualities in ourselves, but other people can see them in us. They can also encourage us to use them, even when we wouldn't do so on our own. And we can do the same for others.