Who I Am

9Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11“The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 12‘I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’13“And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’14“I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Luke 18: 9 - 14 NKJV

I have a bad habit.  See, there are times when I tend to give the words of others more importance than they actually deserve.  I'm speaking more along the lines of negative comments than anything else.  Yes, I'm sure that there are others out there who have struggled with this very same issue.  Now, if I listened to the words of those who were trying to diminish who it is that I really am, I would be nothing more than a dumb, arrogant, lazy shmuck.  Thankfully, I know in my own heart that this is not who I am.  Not only that, I know in my heart that this is not the true identity of those who have suffered words that hurt them.  I know it's hard to think otherwise when we are constantly being bombarded by insults and put downs, but trust me when I say that there is something special about all of us.  We are unique in our very being.  In fact, each of us were created in our heavenly Fathers very image {Genesis 1:27}.  Not only that, it is the Spirit of Christ Jesus who lives through us today {Galations 2:20}.  However, knowing these words and taking them to heart is another issue.  For too long I simply stuffed these words inside as mere book knowledge found in scripture.  I didn't take them to heart.  Therefore, I did not realize who I really was inside.  Can anyone blame me for having a bad attitude at times?  In my eyes, I was the same insignificant person certain people painted me out to be.  Nothing could have been further from the truth.  It wasn't some dog and pony show empowerment seminar that caused me to start seeing myself as I really am.  Far from it.  No, I didn't began to see myself as my heavenly Father looks upon me until I came to the realization of who I am in Christ Jesus.  It is Jesus who loved me first {1 John 4:19}.  When was the last time that someone convinced you that you weren't alive?  That the sky wasn't blue?  We are all too willing to accept these facts, yet we remain on the other side of the fence when it comes to who we really are.  It's time that changed.

1Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of aGod! Therefore the world does not know bus, because it did not know Him. 2Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
1 John 3: 1 - 2 NKJV

When was the last time that you called God dumb or lazy?  Gee, Scott, who the hell would ever do such a thing?  Uh huh, but when you talk down to one of His children aren't you demeaning His creation?  When you insult one of His children aren't you in fact criticizing Jesus whose Spirit is in them?  Indeed, I am not afraid to claim that...I am Jesus.  All that He is I am for He is in me.  Christ is as much a part of me as my own family DNA.  In fact, it is His DNA which is in me as well.  So, again I ask you, when you talk down to one of Gods children who do you think you're talking to?  As I mentioned, I did not know who I really was until I realized my personal relationship with Christ Jesus.  This didn't stop others from disparaging me, only how I perceived their words.  It didn't take long for me to realize that I wasn't that person who others were trying so hard to say that I was.  Then I began to ask myself, if these people  were trying so desperately to paint me as someone I wasn't, how did they see themselves?  Seriously, if you see yourself as being worthless, then more times than not you will portray that feeling unto those around you.  I get it.  The truth is, we've bought into the lie perpetrated by the master deceiver.  The same snake who deceived Eve in the garden continues to deceive us today {Genesis 3:4-5}.  The narative is that we're full of sin, useless and in constant need of Gods punishment.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  It is Jesus Himself who became sin on our behalf that we would be saved {2 Corinthians 5:21}.  We are no longer sinners, but saved through Christ.  Of course, we can read scriptures until we're blue in the face and yet still not realize who we really are.  That was me.  I'm not the one others claim me to be.  I am Jesus...that's who I am.

6knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be adone away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.
7For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6: 6 - 11 NKJV

~Scott~