Day 29: You're You, for a Reason

 

Often in the Christian faith we do not talk about being ourselves. We talk about giving ourselves up, we talk about being like Christ. We talking about changing our lives to look like Christ. But we never really talk about what it means to ‘be yourself’. I know we are supposed to give up our lives of sin in exchange for eternity through Christ. I know that we are all called to fulfill God’s plan. I know we have a purpose, but does that mean I stop being Dyamond. Do I stop being the goofy, laid back, weirdo I have always been? How do I find the balance between the human Dyamond and the Christian Dyamond? Truth is they should not be separate. - Dyamond

First off who we are as a human being and who we are as a follower of Christ should not be separate. We do not live two separate lives. I think there are many things stopping us from truly being ourselves. Especially us who are christians. The ultimately question is, am I allowed to have my own personality or does it conflict with my christian lifestyle? Do I have to give up my individuality?

Romans 12:4-6

For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith;

1 Corinthians 12:14-18

For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.

1 Corinthians 12:27

Now you are Christ’s body, and individual members of it.

1. We are not meant to be Christ-serving robots. Just because we give our lives to Christ does not mean we give up our individuality. God made us all different. He made us all different shapes and sizes, it's our DNA our psychology. We are all wired differently.  It’s the little things that make us who we are, and we must remember that God created those parts of us too, Every inch of our being was created by the hands of God, He knows us inside and out.  
2. Another thing that keeps us from being ourselves  is that we identity sin with self. Meaning that the moment we give our lives to Christ we are under the impression that every inch of our being is corrupted by sin. So if we want to be closer to Christ, we start to change our personal being. WE ARE NOT OUR SIN!!! Sin is what we do it’s not who we are. Who are we outside of our sin? That’s what we have to get to. When we push aside the sin, and insecurities, and bad habits, etc. Who are we? We sin because we are imperfect but we are not known by the sins we’ve committed. God does not call us by our sin.
3. Other people make us think that we are not enough, or that we need to be and do more. We see the lives of others and think we are supposed to look like them.

We cannot change who God made us to be, He made us the way we are for a reason. If everyone was walking around looking the same way, speaking the same way, life would be so boring. Sure we are all one body and we are one in the body of Christ but even the body has different jobs to uphold, the body has different parts that work together to funtion as a living breathing body. The foot cannot do what the leg can do, and the the eyes can’t do what the toes can do. As we are all individual we work together as the body of Christ to move forward. We all play a role in this life, and no matter what that role is, no matter how different it looks from the next person we have to be ourselves. We cannot be the legs and try to be the arms the next day because it feels like it’s not working out. God made each and everyone one of us individually. We must learn to be comfortable in the skin God gave us. We have to be ourselves, because no one else can be it for us. There’s no better you, than you. A lot of times we waste our time trying to be something else because we make assumptions as to who people perceive us as. We have to accept the person God made us to be, and be that. If your laid back, be laidback, if you’re more goofy than others, more stern or serious. Whoever you are, do not lose your individuality. Who are we when we are home alone, or hanging out with friends? Are we the outgoing type? Are we more quiet? what differentiates us from the next person? That’s what I’m talking about, when everything is stripped away will we still have our identity?

Keep in mind that being yourself does not mean being the sinful person we were before we came to Christ, or continuing to stay in those habist that separate us from God in the name of being ”Who we are”.

Reflection

1. Think about what it means to be yourself. What does that look like?
2. How has your personality changed since you've come to Christ?
3. Do you make assumptions about what people think of you?

Prayer Time

Today keep it simple, just talk to God about yourself, thank Him for making you the person you are. Ask Him to help you understand who that is, and to be comfortable in the skin He gave you.