Be yourself

The 18th century Rabbi Zusya was an influential teacher but a timid and humble man. As he lay on his deathbed he couldn’t stop crying. His followers stood around asking “Rabbi, why are you so sad? After all your good deeds, surely you will receive great rewards in the afterlife.”
 
Rabbi Zusya replied “I am afraid. When I get to heaven, if they ask me ‘Zusya, why were you not like Moses?’ I would reply ‘Moses was prophet, and I am not.’ If they ask ‘Zusya, why were you not like Jeremiah?’ I would reply ‘Jeremiah was a writer, and I am not.’ I am afraid that God will ask ‘Zusya, why were you not like Zusya?’ And then what would I answer?”
 
We rightly strive to be great teachers and leaders, parents and partners, but sometimes we try too hard. We honour God by accepting the individuality that He has planted in our lives, rather than blocking it by trying to be like someone else.
 
God knows you.
 
God loves you.
 
God has a purpose for you.
 
When the seafarer, vicar and hymn writer John Newton was a young midshipman, he composed humorous ditties poking fun at the ship’s officers, for which he was flogged. God later used the gift of composing songs, which had been troublesome in earlier life, to pen great hymns, including his most famous and loved, Amazing Grace.
 
Prayer - Lord help me become what I am.
 
You are the salt of the earth - You are the light of the world (Matthew 5:13,14)
 
Let us offer God what we have, which will not be perfect. The boy who gave Christ his loaves and fish, which had been carried around all day and were probably by then somewhat dirty, tired and stale, were transformed by Christ, who transformed and multiplied the offering for His purposes.

Photo by Priyanka Arora on Unsplash