5:82 – Trying to be the person God wants me to be

#faithbites #faithjourney person

Intro

When you look in the mirror what do you see? Does your reflection reflect the person you want to be? I often get advice from people on how to do better, grow, and be a better person. The advice is sound, and it’s advice I’ve given to others. The thing is, it’s hard to follow it. I tell myself I won’t yell at my kids or snap at my wife, but I do it. I apologize and they forgive me, but I can’t get over how I haven’t changed yet. Many of us have in our heads the idea of the person we want to be. Those of us who believe may even know what God wants us to be. Yet, we aren’t there. We still sin, which means to miss the mark, on a daily basis. Yes, we are forgiven and washed clean, yet, it is still a struggle. How do we become the person we are trying to be?

Questions

• What is one trait or attribute that you can point to where you aren’t yet the person you want to be?
• How do you struggle in making those ideas a reality?
• How can we get closer to that person we have in our head?
• Does that person even exist?
• Should that person exist?

Scripture

• Micah 6:8 – He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
• Psalm 37:1-2 – Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! ² For they will soon fade like the grass  and wither like the green herb.
• Matthew 22:37-40 – And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
• John 15:5 -I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Reflection

God’s word doesn’t tell us how to be perfect. It is clear that the only perfect person was Jesus Christ. So if being perfect is on your list, you can cross it off. It’s not what God wants us to be. If you strive to be the person the world wants you to be or how the world defines success (money, fame, fortune), in Psalms, we see that that is not the way. Many of those goals lead to destruction. You cross that off your list too. If you want to be a person who loves God and your neighbors, then that is what God wants. Jesus tells us in John, that he is the vine and if we live in and through him, we will succeed. Nowhere does he say that will be perfect and not sin. Nowhere does he say we will be rich and powerful. In 2 Timothy 2:3, we see if we are a good soldier of Christ we will supper. In Matthew 10:38, we see if we don’t take Jesus’s cross and follow is not worthy.

What does this all mean? In a nutshell, we need to reevaluate how we define the person we want to be. As we close, let’s remember that God is our guide and will help us to be who he wants us to be. When we struggle, remember it’s ok, and we are forgiven.

Prayer

Lord God, help us refine our expectations of what and who we want to be. Provide us with the strength to cast off the vision of us that the world wants. Help us focus. on you, your goals, and being the best believer we can be. In your name. Amen