Be Yourself

Some people are for life verses, some aren’t. Me? I don’t
care either way. I think some verses ring truer to us than others, and these
can change depending where we’re at in our lives. But one verse that has always
stuck with me is 1 Corinthians 15.10. Yes, this is taken somewhat out of
context, but when I read it, it hit my life a bag of bricks.

1 Corinthians 15.10: By the grace of God I am what I am,
and his grace to me has not been without effect

There can be a lot to unpack in this part of the verse,
but that’s not going to happen. I have something else that I’m more passionate
about to tell you about.

In this post there is a video. It’s a commercial for Taco
Bell breakfast. And do you know what it’s full of?

People of the same name.

All different.

In different places.

And completely different people.

But with the same name.

But by the grace of God they are who and what they are:
fathers, sons, brothers, uncles, nephews. And the grace that he has given them,
making them into who they are, has not been for nothing.

I know nothing about these men other than their name. I
don’t know if they’re Christian, atheist, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, or worship the
giant spaghetti monster. But the grace that God has given them has put in where
they are, and made them into who they are. They may share a common name, but
they are all drastically different.

So why do I talk about this?

Growing up I never really fit in. If you know of the
Socially Awkward Penguin meme, that’s me. If you don’t look it up. (Blue is
awkward, red is awesome.) But I was super awkward growing up, never really
fitting in with any groups, stereotypes, or cliques. Always had few friends,
never hung out with people, was just kind of alone.

It wasn’t until in college that I realized, I’m not meant
to be like everyone else. I’m not meant to fit it.  A while back I had a post called “Get Wild,”
talking about how we are to appear crazy to people who don’t know the joy that
Christ brings. I was always seen as an outcast in high school because people
thought I was crazy. Not because of what I believed or how I acted because of what
I believed, but for other reasons.

Later I realized that this was fine. People were thinking
I was crazy because I didn’t fit in anywhere, but I was myself, and that is
more important to me than anything else. Because I am made in the image of God,
he made me just the way I am for a reason. By his grace I am what I am, and
that grace has not been without effect on me.

We are not made to fit in.

Now we have all these different cliques, and groups of
people forming so that everyone can feel like they belong. We cut our hair, dye
it, get piercings, dress certain ways, listen to certain music, use our phones
for specific things, only drink a particular type of coffee, or pop (not soda),
or eat these exact things; all in order to fit in with this group of people.

Why? There is no reason for us to conform to be like
others to fit in. We all serve the same God, who made us exactly how he wanted
us to be.

I say all of this to say this: You were made exactly how
God wanted you. You were not made to fit in. By his grace you are what and who
you are, and this grace should have had a huge effect in your life.

Go out, maybe share a name with someone, but BE YOURSELF.