What You See is What You Get
by Judy Stull
Don’t we all just love being with a person who doesn’t need to hide behind a false personality; who doesn’t need to present an attitude they made up, thinking it’s more presentable than their real identity?
Jesus had no such need. He didn’t need to turn Himself into someone other than who He was. It must have been very comforting to have been with Him, knowing you could count on truth, consistency and transparency, even though you might not always understand. I think that even His challenges would have had a measure of hope about them, because of His incredible love. We can sense that in our lives today.
Jesus knows who we are and who He intended us to be. His acceptance is total and without strings attached. He calls us to come forward, to be genuine, and to live a life of integrity.
As we grow and let Him into our lives and hearts He reveals to us who we are and what we are to become. His delight is watching us turn away from those games we’ve played; modelling a persona we think is acceptable, but far from the reality of who we are. As we try to please others and make ourselves into someone other than the person God had in mind, we create such uneasiness for ourselves, and for those around us. We know we’re drawn to genuineness, and it’s the same for those around us.
The irony is that any false illusion we present is going to turn others away. And that’s the very opposite of our goal. Jesus came to set the captives free. Today let’s repent of any past rejection of our true selves. Let’s ask for the courage to let Him heal us, so we can embrace ourselves as precious people, especially created by God. We can trust in His light to come through us more and more as we relax into our true identity. If the Creator of the world can love us, accept us and enjoy us, should we settle for anything less from ourselves?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, forgive me for the times that I have denied Your creation in me. Help me to have the courage to accept who I am and to live out my freedom in You as Your gift to the world. I humbly pray in Your amazing name. Amen.
Judy Stull has been involved with Ellel Ministries since 2006. She is a retired school teacher and has been a minister’s wife for 40 years. Together she and her husband have one son who is married with two children. They are part of the leadership team at Ellel USA.
Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship. Provided full acknowledgement is made to Seeds of the Kingdom as the source, you are also welcome to use it in a non-commercial way and reproduce it in magazines or other Christian websites. The copyright for any commercial use of the material remains with Ellel Ministries International.
