Be Better!

It’s a question we ask kids: What do you want to be when you grow up?  Among some of the most common answers are doctor, race car driver, baseball or football player, fireman, and actor or actress.  One young fella answered, "When I grow up, I want to be a dog."  That's dreamin' big!

 

What are you going to be?  In the movie, “Forrest Gump,” Jenny asked Forrest, “Do you ever dream … about who you’re gonna be?”  Forrest answers in his simple yet profound way, “Aren’t I going to be me?”   Realistically, we'll all be … who we are!  Think about it – we can pretend (act out) who we want to be or who we think we should be, but in reality – we are who we are!  The evidence of who we are will always “boil down” to who and what rules us.  Personally, the last person I want to be is … myself.  You see, “myself” is full of pride which plays out in selfishness in its truest form.  Jesus said, "By their fruits you will know them." (Matthew 7:20). When was the last time you saw an apple pretending to be an orange, or a grape pretending to be a watermelon?  O.S. Hawkins wrote,   "What we do is determined by who, or whose, we really are!"  Spiritual fruit isn't what we do, but rather who we are. How, then, do we grow to be anything other than ourselves?  A few hours before His death, Jesus told His disciples, "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the Vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” (John 15:4).  The fruit of an apple tree are apples.  The fruit of a Christ-centered life will be Christ-likeness.  Don't you dare follow the world's advice to "just be yourself" -- no, be someone better!  Be who God redeemed you to be -- be better than yourself!