This one will not be long. But many people believe that God wants them to be something other than what they are. They are told that they have evil natures, that they must conform into the image of Jesus, that we are unworthy of grace, that when we sin, we are so ugly to God that he can not look at us, etc...etc...etc..
If God wanted you to be something other than what you are, he would have made you what he wanted. Oh, wait, He already did.
God does not screw up. God did not make a defective you. God made you as you are supposed to be. So, quit listening to people who tell you, that you are not good enough just the way you are. God wants you to be just who you are. He made you with certain talents. If you try to be someone else, then you won't be what he wants you to be. So, wear what you want to wear. Talk like you like to talk. Eat what you like to eat. Hang out where you like to hang out. Just be you. That is all God wants.
12 comments:
word.
Well said. That's a lesson I think many believers need to learn. I know I spent many furitless years thinking I wasn't good enough. Now I take the Pslam 139 approach: I praise God because I am "fearfully and wonderfully made" and he doesn't make mistakes.
furitless=fruitless.
That'll teach me to proofread my posts!
So where does the "strive for righteousness" teachings fit into this?
Michelle
Absolutely, we must simply be who we are, and as we behold Him, we are changed from glory to glory. In other words, Jesus accepts us as we are, and we are fearfully and wonderfully made, but we are by no means finished products of who He has made us. In Philippians it says that it is He who will work in us to will (to want to) and to do His good pleasure.
He who began (started) a good work in us will complete it...
It is imperative that we accept that we are to come to the Lord as we are...and that we are to live each day simply as ourselves, but we must allow God to change us into the vessel He wants us to be...
We strive for righteousness and that has nothing to do with the fact that He accepts us just as we are. We choose wrong things, we sin, we make mistakes, we offend people, we allow people to dictate who we are rather than depend on Christ for everything...in this we must strive for righteousness....He is our righteousness....we strive for Christ to be the Lord, not only the Savior, of our very lives. He is our righteousness and His Righteousness was imputed to us when our sins were put on Him at the Cross.
Our struggle is not in becoming righteous but in BELIEVING that Christ has already made us righteous. Nevertheless (never settle for the less) He is changing us and we mustn't ever settle for remaining as we are, we should be changing without our noticing, without struggling, like a flower unfolds as it is watered and given light...
Michelle,
That is either something that I haven't heard before, or don't remember. If it is something that I have heard before, it did not resonate enough within me to stick. Tell me about it. Does it match with what Linda (faintnot) has down below?
Barry,
Thanks for stopping by. I am still praying daily for you. Please let me know when you get some more information. I also have this spelling problem when I type. I think much faster than I type.
Jon,
That is by far the shortest comment I have seen out of you ever.
Linda,
Thanks for your input on the striving for righteousness. It is something as I said I haven't heard before.
Nate, I really appreciate your prayers. As soon as I get any more information, I'll post it on my blog.
Maybe these are what Michelle means?
But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
1 Timothy 6:11
Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
2 Timothy 2:22
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Matthew 6:33
Left some eggnog and cinnamon spiked cider for you all to enjoy.
Merry Christmas everyone :-)
it's taken me a lot of years but I finally realised why I can never be good enough (not good enough as a daughter, not good enough as a friend, not good enough as a sister...)
because I was trying to be someone I wasn't. I was trying to be the good daughter, the good friend, the good sister. So now I am myself, and I am unapologetic for it, even though it may cost me family & friends. I'm the only person who can be me, so I need to be me to the best of my ability!
Never Good Enough,
Thanks for stopping by. Many people in the church to day feel as you do, that no matter what they do it is not enough. For humans, it never will be. But God is different. He wants you for you. Nothing else. If you come to him just as you are, he will accept you. As to you losing people because you are not what they want anymore, that is their problem, not yours. But do not be overly confrontational about it, or discourtesous, but firm. It will be a shock for a while, but, if they love you, will get used to it.
It's been awhile since I've read this post... but I catch myself thinking about it frequently.
I don't (or maybe can't) agree with you... but there is something there in your post that is right, waiting on me to figure it out.
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