It seems like the people we look up to the most seem to always have it all together. They are sophisticated, on top of things, and never make mistakes. I'm here to tell you that these people are not real. This is a mask. People are not like that. The problem with this is that most people think this is true. If I could just be more like this person, I'll be successful. If I was just more attractive, maybe this person would like me. If I was funnier, I could get this person's approval. We must stop this. The people we look up to that seem so great usually aren't. They just get really good at pretending. Greatness comes with embracing brokenness. Embracing imperfections. Showing our faults on the outside and knowing that we are still loved.
When I was younger, I was jealous of so many of the people around me. I saw myself as inferior and wished I could be like them. They were cool and I was...myself. To cope with this I tried to emulate them. I talked like they talked and I acted like they acted so they would like me. The worst part is that this worked. I was cool. I was one of them. As I started getting older and wiser, I realized that being one of them sucks. When you are one of them, you feel the need to always prove yourself. You feel the need to put others down and to glorify yourself. Everything is about you. You get put into this battle. A battle you can not win. There will always be someone better than you. The only way to win is to give up.
The thing is God loves us. When we become them, we are hiding from God. We are hiding from this beautiful fact that no matter what we do, God still loves us. And if God loves us no matter who we are, we don't have to try to be someone else anymore. When we conform to them we give them power. When we be ourselves, we give ourselves power. Power to let the love of God transform our lives. Power to let go and let God. Power that is real. Power that will never leave us.
When we are vulnerable, we get scared. Scared of what people will think about us, scared that we aren't good enough. When we know God loves us we lose this fear. Now, when we are vulnerable we get to open ourselves up to others. We get to let them see our hearts, what we're about. Of course, they are going to see our faults but when we have the most powerful thing of all, the love of the creator of the universe, this really doesn't even matter.
As Christians we hear this message and think this doesn't apply to us. We think we know who God is and don't fall into this category. The truth is we all fall into this category. We often think we're in a competition for who loves God the most. Who's the best Christian. Hierarchy is a drug. We're addicts. When we admit this, we're set free. We get to live our lives, bragging not about our love for God, but God's love for us. The love that changed us from what we were. The love that lets us be ourselves. That love that puts us in harmony with our maker. True love.
So how do we respond to this? We first show gratitude to the one who made this love. We thank God for loving us even though we don't really deserve it. Then, we learn to be ourselves. We learn to have our own opinions, have our own personalities, and have our own minds. We admit our mistakes, admit our flaws, and admit our brokenness. We learn to accept this love that we've been freely given. We become aware of this gift that is life and realize that it is our life to live, not someone else's. We make ourselves vulnerable to show others that it's okay to not be okay. We learn to show others this great love that God has shown us. We count our blessings and live with a purpose: to spread this great love everywhere we go. Because, in the end, we'll see that it is not about who we are, but how we love.
Thanks again for reading, much love.
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