Acts 13:1-3

Acts 13:1-3
English Standard Version (ESV)

  If I had to hazard a guess, I'd imagine that most of us don't feel 'set apart'.  We don't think of ourselves as particularly useful to the Kingdom of God, and we look with envy upon those who are better able to understand and utilize their gifts to spread God's word.  We feel like we're important parts of the church, but we have a hard time understanding our own fit and often feel like we're just another face in the crowd.
 The great thing about God is that he is unbounded.  He doesn't have the limited attention that we do -- he can attend to each of us at every moment.  He's not like an earthly parent, whose attention is limited to one child at a time, often leaving another child doing something dramatic in order to capture that precious attention (this is a concept we are VERY familiar with in our house!).  God can pour himself into each and every one of us as though there was no one else, for his love and attention are truly limitless.
  So when you think about being set apart, don't think of it as being some rock star that everyone else in the church will look upon in wonder.  Think of the fact that God has called you to serve a role that only you can serve.  You have been gifted for this time and place, and the relationships you are in can be used by God to proclaim his love and majesty.  You are here and now for a reason, and as a good friend of mine has said, you may well be the answer to someone else's prayer.  You have been set apart because God has called you in this precious time to do what only you can do as well and as faithfully as you can, and to point those around you to the majesty and glory of the Risen Lord.