Your Spiritual DNA, Part 1

Your Spiritual DNA, Part 1:

How To Test Your Spiritual DNA — and Why To Do It

First in a 5-part series that outlines the components making up your spiritual DNA

The DNA molecule, found inside the nucleus of every human cell, directs what makes each person physically unique. From our hair color to our vein map to our shoe size, this customized programming contains all the instructions our bodies need to develop, survive, and reproduce.

Just as our bodies are uniquely wired by DNA with specific physical traits, so are our souls programmed with a “spiritual DNA” that runs through our being, making each of us one-of-a-kind. Your spiritual DNA determines who you are and what you’re to do.

Two Identity Tests and What They Tell You

A clinical DNA test determines your identity at the cellular level, establishing paternity, genetic disorders, and ancestry. It is even used as a reliable identity device in crime scene investigations.

A spiritual DNA assessment reveals your identity in that which makes you a spiritual being: your strengths, your gifts, your passions, and your call.

The two assessments are similar in that they both return tangible data. They differ considerably in at least one respect: who runs the tests. A clinical DNA test is ordered by a medical or investigative professional and must be conducted by a lab technician. Your spiritual assessment can only be undertaken by you – when you decide to do so.

Why go to the trouble to take one?

Two Reasons to Assess Your Spiritual DNA

One answer is tucked away in 1 Corinthians 2:7-10: “We speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden … No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him, but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit” (NIV).

This scripture reminds us that there is a lot more going on in us and around us that we can see with our physical eyes. The question of who you are and what you’re to do is “wisdom that is hidden” until you are willing to understand it. In order to gather that information, your spiritual radar needs to be clicked on. When you’re ready, God can reveal His secret wisdom about you to you … through His Spirit.

Signals like these indicate your willingness to know more about who you are:

You want deeper insight. Life’s pace is fast. We get caught up in it. Frustration, restlessness, fatigue, superficiality, despair, being overwhelmed – these can indicate your willingness to let God speak. That opens the door for you to develop a deeper understanding about yourself and a deeper insight into the world around you.

You long for clarity. God is not the author of confusion. He is a God of order – as evidenced in our cellular DNA, which though complex is formed from a unique combination of just four compounds. Likewise, your spiritual DNA is a unique combination of just four components:

your personality (how you will serve)
your spiritual gifts (why you should serve)
your passion (where you will serve)
your story (who you are as you serve)

Your interest in clarifying one or more of those components is a good indication that you’re willing to uncover your spiritual DNA.

Know Who You Are and What You’re To Do

The remaining articles in this series will unpack each of the four components that comprise your spiritual DNA.

Wrapped up in the unique person God has made you to be are works designed specifically for you. These wonderful works make God’s Kingdom real to others. Knowing your make up allows you to determine God’s call on your life and be a part of that great story.

But you can only discover those great works if you know who you are.