In this world, there is a lot of pressure to conform. We want people to like us. We want to belong. We don’t want to be pushed out of economic opportunities like a job, a promotion, or the chance to become an business owner. We want to be in the club, or to be invited to the place “everyone” is going.
In order to fit in, many people mask who they really are and try to look and sound like the person they believe is well-accepted. This person may be a movie star, or an influencer on social media, or it could even be a person they know in real life.
Should we try to be like someone else? Well, yes! But there is only one particular person we should copy, and that is Jesus.
People urge us to “be yourself,” but there is no “self” without God. (He made us and holds us into being.) We were specially designed by God for a purpose.
The idea of “finding yourself” is a kind of trick to get us to explore the world without regard for the law of God. But God gave us His law for our benefit, to guard us from evil. When we ignore it, we throw off all of God’s protection. Those experiences that come outside His will may ruin the beautiful plan God had for your life.
In a way, we participate in making ourselves. Part of what we become is the result of the choices we make and the experiences we go through. And when we choose to explore without regard for the law of God, which is designed to save us, then we will become foolish.
“A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself.” (Proverbs 18:2)
If you are a true believer in Jesus, then you will desire to be close to Him, to please Him, and to be like Him. His power renews our hearts, so that “we love what He loves and hate what He hates.” Jesus gives us His Holy Spirit to comfort us in the troubles of this world, and to guide us into the good works God has planned for us to do.
Who Are We, Really?
Each one of us has been made by God in His own image. Our true selves, right down to our DNA, is to be like God. Sin is what has deformed us and made us different from the person we really are, the one we were made to be.
You are I were made for a purpose. Like a specialized tool that meets a specific need, you were designed for the life you are living, and you were made to fit into this time and minister to those around you, right now.
God knew you before you were born. He planned for you to have the opportunity to do certain good works, and He did all this before the foundation of the world. If you are walking in His Spirit and respond in obedience when He prompts you, then you will be doing the good works He planned for you to do.
“Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.” (Ephesians 1:4 NLT)
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)
But many times we allow others to fool us into being a person that we are not. We are trying really hard to please the wrong people, when there is only One to please, and that is God.
This moon was in the late afternoon sky last Sunday.
The color in the leaves during fall is the color that has always been there all summer. It is only when the tree recalls the chlorophyll (the green chemical in the leaves that makes sugar from sunlight), that the true color of the leaves can be seen. When we stop trying to meet our own needs and completely trust God to take care of us, then we can fully become who He made us to be and show our own true colors.
It does get confusing when other people who call themselves Christians try to pressure you into whatever it is they want to promote: It could be a political stance, or a civil thing, or it could be some kind of religious dogma (tradition of men).
Anyone can claim to be Christian, but the spiritual world is filled with wolves in sheep’s clothing. Jesus reminded us to look at the fruit in a person’s life to know the truth about them. And I will suggest that fruit can take a long time to mature. Don’t rush into approval or judgement. Keep your eyes on the Lord, and don’t be so influenced by other men. As Jesus said,
“Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41)
I said earlier that in a way, we participate in making ourselves through our choices. I was talking about the negative consequences of playing with sin. But our choices can also work for us. When we rely on God and obey his commands, then our choices will be shaped by His will. God will lead us through specific paths so that, years later, we will have the experience we need to do the task God has put before us.
and lovingly prepares us for it.
(continued in True Colors, part two)
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