Be Yourself
For there is no partiality with God. – Romans 2:11 NKJV.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that WHOEVER believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. – John 3:16 NKJV.
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. – Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV. (The Message translates this as: I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out-plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.)
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. – Ephesians 2:10 NKJV.
When I was a teenager I often heard of others who when facing arrest claimed to be someone else to escape the potential charges. Often the claim would be as a result of having a fake ID that was used to purchase beer, and usually the story did not end well for those involved. In 2007 in Dallas, Texas, Mario Miramontes was facing arrest for violation of his parole when he used the “I’m not that person excuse.” Using a name of someone he knew, he claimed to be his cousin, Christopher Ayala. Unknown to Mario, his cousin was also wanted by the police with a warrant out for a much more serious charge.
When Mario found out that he was facing more time in prison if he were actually his cousin, he began to try to convince everyone that he was actually, who he actually was; as in “Hey, I’m really Mario!” “I’m telling the truth this time!” It took 13 months for Mario to be released from jail compared to the possible 60 days he would have served on the parole violation. (Dallas Morning News 1.8.2011; TrueCrimeReport.com 1.13.2011)
Have you ever wished, or thought that life would be better if only you could be someone else? If you could only be someone who was rich, or was beautiful, or had a better career, or was in better physical shape, or whatever? Most people probably have had thoughts like those at one time or another. We know that Mario Miramontes had a few thoughts like that!
The spiritual fact is that you are a unique, priceless, one of a kind masterpiece that God has created. There is not, never has been, and never will be another person like you. You, and you alone, are of so much value to God that Jesus Christ suffered and died on the cross for your sins. If it had only been you, Jesus still would have died so that you might have life, eternal life by believing in Him.
God has a plan, a special plan for your life. God has things for you to do that no one else can do, at least not in the way that you can do them. Instead of wishing that somehow you could be someone else, be yourself. Be all that God wants you to be in His perfect plan for your life. There in the center of God’s will, is where you will find the ultimate fulfillment, the ultimate joy, the ultimate peace, and the ultimate life.
How do you begin to implement God’s plan for your life? Matthew 6:33 is the overarching guide to living out God’s plan for you: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”