Impersonators

 

     

     Trying to be like someone else seems to come naturally most of our lives. It’s just part of the right of passage. As kids we often want to be like our superheroes. We admire policemen and firefighters and so many others that we look up to. Our kids would often come home from school having picked up some attitudes from their friends. My wife would say, “Where is my child?” because she would quickly notice the change in attitudes. She would reinforce the fact that she wanted who they genuinely were and not someone they were pretending to be.

     We wanted to convey to our kids that we loved them just as they were warts and all and wouldn’t trade them for anyone in the world. Unfortunately so many of us carry this into adulthood. It’s as if we are trying to gain acceptance as someone else maybe because we somehow believe that we simply are not enough as ourselves. This actually stems from a perception that we don’t measure up the way we are.

     I struggled with that mentality until one day as I was praying that God would help me be more like someone I admired very much that I clearly heard the Lord respond lovingly. He said I already have one of him and I need you to be who I made you to be. He let me know that I was different with my own unique personality. In other words he was letting me know that he loved me just as I was and that he would be with me to develop those character traits his way and in his time. I am far from perfect no matter how much I wish I were. 

     Today’s verse tells us to let God transform us into a new person by changing the way we think. Right thinking leads to right living. You don’t need to be like anybody else. He didn’t make a mistake when he created you. Allow him to lovingly lead and guide you. Remember that there is no one quite like you, and remember that you are very deeply loved!