tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29606082.post7804446961947910623..comments2023-10-03T06:25:41.357-05:00Comments on Grace Roots Blog: Be yourself - You can't be what you're notJoel Bruesekehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10395847887953875757noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29606082.post-40020900427484120552008-03-28T14:17:00.000-05:002008-03-28T14:17:00.000-05:00Bino... Yes I think mistakes are a part of our lif...Bino... Yes I think mistakes are a part of our life in Christ. In fact as I was writing the post, I had to delete some things because it was getting too long and I also had much more to say. I thought perhaps I'd write another similar post if I had the time.<BR/><BR/>One thing I had planned on saying was something like, "And don't be afraid to make mistakes. In fact, expect to make mistakes."<BR/><BR/>I was going to continue with my story about becoming a nursing assistant. It's definitely not where I was headed in the long run, but yet becoming a nursing assistant landed me at the hospital where I've now had a different job for several years, and is a job where I can plainly see that God has me there.<BR/><BR/>And yep, I think on the one hand "who we are" is the righteousness of God, holy, perfect, sin taken away, etc, etc, and on the other hand we will spend a lifetime of discovering all that that really means. We'll make many mistakes, in that we'll do things that don't represent who we are, and we'll learn from those mistakes. We'll also get many things "right," and we'll learn who we are through those things, too.Joel Bruesekehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10395847887953875757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29606082.post-9919367650762969652008-03-28T12:34:00.000-05:002008-03-28T12:34:00.000-05:00Joel,In the process of 'discovering' who we are, I...Joel,<BR/>In the process of 'discovering' who we are, Is it okay to mess up? For example, like Aida, I too don't want to be a people pleaser, but I still do that time to time. I also want to be just who I am in Christ. But what does it really mean? I know I am His righteousness, holy and for ever a child of God. But what are the implications of it in a daily life? You said you wanted to help people and became a nursing assistant, but only after becoming one you realized that it was not for you, right? In other words, you took a step in a direction you thought God was leading you but later realized it wasn't God.<BR/>So can we say, we try many different 'things', not realizing whether it was intended by God and then later realize it wasn't. Is that also part of discovering who we are? I am not sure if I am making sense.<BR/>What I am struggling is this: without making mistakes, how do we learn? The reason I have a great appreciation for the message of Grace is because I walked the 'valley' of legalism for a while. Bible says, "For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little." The more I know I am weak in my flesh, the more appreciation I have for Jesus. The more I realize I cannot live without sinning, the more I appreciate Christ's righteousness. The more I realize what I do can be a mistake, the more I realize how much I need Him. Right?<BR/>We are not prone to mistakes even in the process of being who we are, because sometimes we just don't know who we are! We forget it, ignore it, etc. To me, I cannot decide one fine morning that from today onwards I am just going to be who I am. Expect disaster! (at least in my case). I think I will live the rest of my life figuring out who I am in Christ (in a practical life) and I think I will get that realization only when I see Him face to face.<BR/><BR/>Great post though! Something to chew for a while!Bino M.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02303467552834533436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29606082.post-2135690127792125722008-03-28T08:52:00.000-05:002008-03-28T08:52:00.000-05:00Aida... I'm in a very similar place. Although I'v...Aida... I'm in a very similar place. Although I've discovered a lot more of who I truly am in recent years, I'm still growing in it, and each new discovery truly is exhilarating! I used to squawk at Christians who said "be yourself" (although I truthfully never heard it said a whole lot), because I thought that "who I am" is a bad person and that I need to start being like someone else (Christ). I now realize that who <I>I am</I> in Christ is the person who I get to be!<BR/><BR/>As I look back, stripping away the layers has been both scary <I>and</I> exhilarating! It helps a great deal when I hear from others who have been or who are going through a similar process!Joel Bruesekehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10395847887953875757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29606082.post-64244847095136154872008-03-28T06:09:00.000-05:002008-03-28T06:09:00.000-05:00Great post, Joel. I'm still trying to figure out ...Great post, Joel. I'm still trying to figure out who I am in many areas of my life. Since, for so many years, I've been a people pleaser, it's exhilarating to be free to discover who I really am and I'm finding out that the in-Christ me is a really neat person. Peeling back each layer and making new discoveries about myself is exciting.<BR/><BR/>Like you, I'm one of the 90 per cent and I don't feel guilty about it at all. There are just so many hours in the day and all of that busy work takes time away from doing those things that Father is calling me to be involved in.<BR/><BR/>Religion has complicated it but it really is quite simple. If we'll just do what Father has place on our hearts to do, we'll be okay. And,our hearts can be trusted, when we're living out of our union with him.<BR/><BR/>AidaAidahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09885702269506142727noreply@blogger.com