Did you ever wish you could change something about yourself?
I’m not talking about sharpening a skill. I want to become a better artist. And I’m not improving character, spirituality, or human relations. I want to be fully present when my wife is talking to me.
I’m talking about changing something that is fundamentally you. When I was younger, I didn’t like my nose. It was too big. It stuck out too far. Why couldn’t I have a normal nose just like everybody else?
On Sunday, 11/6/2022, Pastor Chris spoke to us from Joshua 23:12-13 about the sneaky temptation to be “just like everyone else.” You can check that message out here.
I’m reminded of a little passage tucked away in the Old Testament book of Esther. The king—ruler of a sprawling empire that extended from India to Africa—decided to throw a party, a lavish party, probably the biggest party described in the Bible (outside of the marriage feast of the Lamb).
In Esther 1:7, we read, “Wine was served in goblets of gold, each one different from the other…”
When you have nearly unlimited wealth, matching stemware is not a thing. Rather, you want each goblet different from all the rest.
I like that passage because it reminds me that God, in His great wisdom, made each of us different from all the rest.
And those differences are worth celebrating.
I may or may not know you personally. But I do know a few things about you.
I know that you were created to live forever. God wants you in heaven with Him forever and ever. Do you get what that means? It means that even after a million years, you will still be interesting to God. He will never be bored with you. Never.
I know there is a best version of you. It exists in the mind of God. It is gradually being revealed as God does His work in your life. Preachers are fond of saying that we are being “conformed to the image of Christ” (Romans 8:29), but you are also being transformed into the unique you designed and desired by God.
Yes, you are created in the image of God. But it’s like a giant photocopier is spitting out copies, and every one looks completely different, yet every one looks like God. It’s a paradox, but, I think, a happy one.
You were meant to be you. God doesn’t want or need you to be somebody else. He likes you. Just the way you are.
In my mind, that’s good news.
Dwight
