Be who God made you to be!

Have you heard the story about the woman who had a heart attack and was rushed to the hospital? On the operating table she had a near-death experience during which she saw God and asked Him if her life was over. “No,” God replied, “You have another forty-three years, two months, and eight days left to live.” The woman was so thrilled she decided to stay in the hospital and have a facelift, liposuction, a tummy tuck—the whole works. She even had a stylist come in and change her hair colour, figuring since she had so much time left, she should make the most of it. After being discharged from the hospital, however, she was crossing the road when she was killed by a speeding ambulance. Arriving back in God’s presence, she fumed, “I thought you said I had forty-plus years left.” Whereupon God replied, “I’m sorry, I didn’t recognize you.” Seriously, God will help you to be the best you can be, but He won’t help you become something He never intended you to be. So accept yourself, love yourself, and enjoy being the best version of yourself. English theologian Julius Hare said, “Be what you are. This is the first step toward becoming better than you are.” When you think about it, the opposite of courage isn’t fear, it’s conformity. And nothing is more exhausting and frustrating than trying to live your life as someone you’re not. So today be who God made you to be! Rise up and declare this with the apostle Paul: “By the grace of God I am what I am.”