“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
That’s the question we all were asked, either by others or by ourselves. And when we think of our answers, we first consider our desired vocation. A teacher. A doctor. A wife and mother. A police officer. And the list goes on.
God is in the business of transformation! What do you want to be?
But today, let me ask you to consider another type of “being.” Not a career or a job or a title. But instead your being. Your character. Your life. Your reputation and the legacy you leave with those your love. The mark you make on the world.
For example: I want to be honest. I want to be trustworthy. I want to be cheerful. I want to be forgiving. I want to be creative. I want to be faithful. I want to be thoughtful. I want to be teachable. I want to be servant oriented.
What do you truly want to be in your heart? If you overheard you closest family members talking about you, what would you want them to say about you? How about your friends? Your work associates? The service people who wait on you at the grocery store or at your favorite restaurant?
Who and how do you want “to be” to others?
God’s Word calls followers of Jesus to be like Him. He wants us to be loving, joyful, patient, kind, doers of good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled (see Galatians 5:22-23). As we become strong in these ways of being, the light of Christ shines brighter in and through us. We become more “attractive,” so people want what we have, which is Christ living in us.
To become these ways requires commitment, change, and dedication. It calls each of us to examine our heart and our motives when we interact with others. Are we being the way God wants us to be when we gossip? Or when we demand our own way? Or when say unkind words to our love ones? You know the answer. No, that’s not how we’re called to be.
You were made in God’s image and in His likeness. And God is love. Love is His being!
Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Becoming who we want to be also requires practice. The definition of “practice” is: repeated exercise in or performance of an activity or skill so as to acquire or maintain proficiency in it.
So, to be like Jesus . . . to be like our Father wants us to be . . . we must repeat the ways of the Lord over and over and over again. We love, even when others are acting in very disappointing ways. We have patience, even when someone around us is flying off the handle. We are kind, even when someone is mean. *
Are you ready for an interior makeover? Open your heart to God.
What do you want to be? Do you know? Do you want to discover the answer, which may be hidden in your heart?
Here are some simple steps you can take to start you on the path to being who you want to be:
- Take a few minutes and use your journal or a sheet of paper and write down the answer.
- Decide to “be” that character quality.
- List a few ways you can exhibit your “being” to others.
- Practice, practice, practice.
- Review your actions and make necessary tweaks. Then practice some more!
Be blessed as you pursue your desire to be all you can be as a child of God, made in His image!
*Please understand me. We should never accept abuse toward us. But even in those situations, we can behave in a way that is true to who we are and how we want to be. We forgive, but don’t accept the abusers’ behavior as acceptable. We pursue the help we need and remain self-controlled.