Who Are You Truly?

        A minister once said the world is governed and held together by principles and not by miracles. This is true. However, not by the principles crafted by men but by the principles of God: “The heavens were made by the word of the Lord, and all the stars, by the breath of His mouth…For He spoke, and it came into being; He commanded and it came into existence” (Psalm 33:6, 9),  “…upholding and maintaining and guiding and propelling the universe by His mighty word of power…” (Hebrews 1:3b, AMP) and “He is the Lord our God; His judgments (principles) govern the whole earth” (Psalm 105:7). This means we owe our existence to God. If we believe this to be true,  it follows that to live a fulfilling life we must be governed by His principles! Sadly, we now live in a world that believes it can craft its own principles to live by. No wonder there is so much chaos across the globe. When the created being chooses to go against its nature (what it was created to be), there are bound to be problems. Who are you truly? 

      Two young men were having a very loud disagreement the other day. Sadly, it degenerated to threats and name calling. What stood out for me was when one of them yelled at the other – ‘who are you?’ Of course they both knew themselves as they were colleagues. But listening to them (though unwillingly), I realized that the question went deeper than how it sounded literally. Sometimes, one wonders who we truly are. So many wear masks that cover who they truly are in order to fit into their surroundings. We claim to be sons of the Kingdom, citizens of Heaven, yet our actions and speeches sometimes belie this truth. 

        As a child of God we believe that we are the express image of our Father in Heaven, carrying not only His nature, but desiring to be like Him on a daily basis! If the foregoing statement is true about you, it means your life must be in conformity to His WORD and NOT the WORLD: “They are not of the world, as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth. As you have sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world” (John 17:16-18). Daniel and his friends understood this truth and chose not to eat from the table of the king (representing the world and its systems). God honored them for this act. Beloved, daily, so many wonderful sons of God feed from the table of the king of this world, and they find reasons to justify their actions. We forget that these things poison our hearts, such that what we should believe naturally becomes strange to us! We forget that once our feeding is wrong it affects every aspect of our life. Don’t be deceived, your speech and your reasoning are a direct reflection of what you listen to and has taken root in your heart, because out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 

       Beloved, who are you really? You claim to be a child of God, but what comes out of you via speech and actions says otherwise! We know we are all ‘work in progress’. But that’s just it! We are ‘in progress’! This means on a daily basis we must strive to be like Jesus Christ. It is not an “I’m trying” thing, but a determination to truly be like Christ; by practicing what we have learned of Him! No matter what the world throws at us, in whatever form, we are not supposed to take them in no matter how innocent they may look or sound. When we do, they poison and corrupt our inner man, such that we and the people around us lose sight of who we truly are. If you are not sure of whom you are, it will be impossible to be what you have been created to be. We were warned: “And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you] (Romans 12:2, AMP). Beloved, it is time to remove the masks (pretentious and unwholesome lifestyles) and be who God created you to be, being an exact replica of Jesus Christ in word and deeds. God bless you as you ponder on these words, in Jesus Christ name!