It doesn't take us long to look at another person and decide if they are real or fake. Think about it. We spend a lot of time trying to be someone we aren't. Just what if we spent our time seeking God for who we were created to be? Being the REAL you is so much better than being the FAKE you.
It seems we can see the heart of a person if we look close enough. So what about you? What is your heart saying? Do you think your not good enough so you must become someone else? Are you trying so hard to fit into the crowd you lose all sense of who you are to be? It's easily done when we look to the world for who we should be.
We often just think of girls as trying to fit in, but young men struggle with this as well. For some reason we are an insecure people. We are forever changing ourselves. Now, there is nothing wrong with improving ourselves. We are after all a work in progress. But when we begin to think we are not good enough or there is something wrong with us, there lies the problem. It becomes a vicious cycle of looking in the mirror and not liking who is looking back. We must get to that point we not only like ourselves, but we LOVE ourselves. We can't be concerned with what others think of us. We just have to be ourselves, who God created us to be. Praise the Lord, He created each of us different. I am not so sure the world could handle more than one Robin Prater. lol
Do we find ourselves acting one way around one group and then another way around another set of friends? One thing we must think about is, who are we when we are all alone? I can tell you when it's just me at home I am more comfortable in many ways. I act goofy. I dance around the house. I sing at the top of my lungs. But there too is another side to that freedom. There are days I turn on music that I love dancing to when I know I shouldn't be listening to it. That is a real struggle for me. I LOVE music of all kinds. What about television? I love old movies as well. Set me up with an old movie and I am good for hours, but put a comedy in front of me and I will laugh until I pee. What I am laughing at isn't always humor God would find funny. There is a fine line there isn't there? We seem to be one way at home. One way in church. One way with this friend and one way with the other. So, who are we?
That isn't for others to figure out. We should just stop asking others, "Do you like this? Does this look good? What do you think of my new hair?" Ladies, if you like it, wear it. If you want your hair purple, be you! Stop worrying about how others see you and consider how the Lord sees His child. That's right. His child. You belong to Him. You were created by Him. Do we really understand that? I think sometimes that is too cool to even fathom for me. God loves me. He really loves me. It isn't anything special I do. It's not what I do or how much money I have. It isn't at all about what I look like. It's just all about Him loving me for me. The greatest thing of all is, He isn't comparing me to others. He doesn't look at me and say, "Now Robin, why can't you be more like Crystal?"
See, the thing is, the more we know Christ, the more He shows us about our self. The closer we are to Him, the closer we are at the person He has created us to be. It's hard. I know. We want everyone to like us and we really want to fit in, but not everyone is going to like us no matter what we do. It's not about our relationship with the world any way. It's about our relationship with Christ. The world will forever tell us we are not good enough. Just pick up any magazine. The cover is all about changing you to become someone else. The latest styles, the coolest clothes and all the illustrated photos of what we should look like. All from what type of jean we should be wearing to what color best suits us. You can even find ads about what celebrity you look like. How about just showcasing women in their real beauty? Showing women who are not trying to be someone they aren't, but women who stand out because they are who they were created to be. You will NEVER find yourself and who you are to be in another person!
When we are real that is when others see Jesus through us. The world needs to see our struggles. They need to see our fears. We seem to hide all our emotions and put on the face. You know that face. That one that says, "All is perfect in my life. I am all good." In our deepest struggles is when others see Christ working in us. They see us being lifted up by Him. It's then they begin asking questions like, "I just don't know how you do it." There is your opening to share your faith in Christ. If all is so good and perfect in our lives why are we in need of a Savior?
When we act fake all people see is plastic. There is more to us than what is on the outside. We don't have to hide behind rose tainted glass. We need to stop putting on a show and just be REAL. When we hurt, why not be honest and say, "I hurt"? We don't have to put on a fake smile and giggle when someone walks by. I think we can all spot a fake pretty easy. With Jesus we don't have to pretend with who we are. He loves us just the way we are. We don't have to be a certain way to receive His love. In His time and in His own way, He does the changing. That's why His perfect timing is so cool. When He does the changing we are ready for it. We understand it and we are comfortable with it.
Just simply be you.
"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous-how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in Your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are Your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can't even count them; they out number the grains of sand! And when I wake up, You are still with me!" Psalm 139:13-18
