Someone Like Me
Galations 6: 3 NKJV
There was a time not so long ago when pride in ones self was considered a admirable trait. Such people were looked upon as self assured, confident and strong. Now days, to hear most people tell it, these very same people are now looked upon as arrogant, pridefull and mean. What happened? I mean, I myself have been convicted all too often by those around me of being far too arrogant. No, I know who it is that I am and I simply WILL NOT allow some poor schmuck to label me as somone I'm not. Yes, I could go along with the crowd and be that cookie cutter person that everyone else tells me that I am, but what fun is that? After all, I wouldn't be too honest with myself if I did that. Yes, I am confident in who I am, but that in no way means that I am conceited. Was the apostle Paul arrogant? Was Jesus Himself conceited? Some misguided believers might say so, but not me. That wasn't who they were. In fact, Paul made it a point to claim that it was he who had died {Romans 6:6}. There was a reason for the demise of the old man they used to know as Saul. That man had been replaced by the one true Spirit/personality/being in the universe. See, Paul realized that it was no longer he who took center stage in his life, but Christ Jesus in him {Galations 2:20}. Was Paul arrogant in this realization? Hardly. I would have been more concerned if he, knowing Christ in him, continued to see himself as really important. Paul knew better. For lack of a better anology, Paul knew where his bread was buttered. He knew who was really important. So, what's the difference between myself and Paul? What's the difference between myself and any other believer who knows Christ in them? Nothing really. Still, when I am confident in who it is that I am, I'm seen by many around me as arrogant and conceited. I guess Jesus faced these same nay sayers whenever He proclaimed His own identity. How can a sinful man be the Son of God? Blasphemy! Well, most well meaning christians see Jesus for who He really is yet refuse to see themselves in the same light. I get it.
20“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
Galations 2:20 NKJV
Not so long ago, former Minnesota Vikings coach Tony Dungy, himself a christian, penned a book titled simply "Quiet strength." I have to say that the title of the book fit Dungy to a T. For anyone who has watched this man walking the sidelines or in the broadcast studio you cannot come away without seeing how confident and strong Tony Dungy is. Yet he is not seen as arrogant or conceited. However, too many others are labled as conceited for displaying the same traits as Dungy. Go figure. The truth of the matter is...I know who it is that I am. I am a child of God. I am the heir to His kingdom. If knowing this causes me to walk with self confidence never before seen then so be it. I will never apolagize for walking in the realization of who it is that I am. This is not false confidence but self assurance. As I said, I would be far more worried if I, knowing Christ in me, continued to see myself as truly important. Instead, I walk in the knowledge of WHO is important in my life. I walk each and every day as Christ Jesus who is in me. This is not arrogance, but the realization that my old man has died and has been replaced by He who loved me first. If I have any regrets it is that I do not proclaim often enough who it is that I am. Even then, that is who I am. All it is that Jesus is, is all that I am. If others see this as being conceited then perhaps they need to come to that realization of who they really are as well. I haven't cornered the market on the realization of Christ in us. God delivers that revelation to all who seek Him. True arrogance is accepting the lie that we ourselves are responsible for our own being. That we are indeed a independent self. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The prophet Isaiah has claimed that there is but one God...and no other gods besides Him. I know this to be true. I also know the man who walks in Christ. That man is someone like me.
5I am the LORD, and there is no other; There is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me.
Isaiah 45:5 NKJV
~Scott~
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