Christian Living

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Larry Lilly's Letter Thursday September 23, 2010

A friend asked a very tough question of me, one that I had a hard time answering without being cruel. Not because I do not like my friend, were dislike in the mix any answer would be easy regardless of the pain inflicted.

The question; "Larry, who do you think I am." Since neither of us accepts reincarnation as valid, that this person was a new version of Caesar or Cleopatra was not in the mix. I asked for a little time rather than giving a flip stock answer, I did shortly reply: "Who I think you are is not of any importance whatsoever. Who you know you are is the gold answer." Most people live and die and never answer this question. This accounts for what is called "The Condition Miserable."

Matthew Arnold commented on this when he wrote:

"Resolve to be thyself; and know that he who finds himself, loses his misery."

Jesus taught us that after being born again the next life long journey is studying Him that we may learn just "who" He has made us, to become and to serve in a capacity He suits us for.

The misery comes from often spending an entire life being someone other than ourself. It may be a figment of a parents imagination, a fantastical vaporous dream of self from another era such as fancying that we are characters in an Elizabethian setting.

Christ designs us as members of His New Creation to live in, enjoy and personally triumph over the grim realities of this present world through His faith. Failure to understand the necessity of being who I am created to be and embrace or acquiesce to "being somebody I'm not" leads to the misery of living written about by Arnold and others.

On becoming like Christ we certainly deny self, but when this really takes place, His Spirit molds us into His inner likeness, which likeness is defined throughout the scriptures. Being in his inner likeness is described in Galatians 5:22-23:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Quite the opposite of misery this losing ourself and finding it Lord in Thee.

Larry Lilly Copyright © 2010 Use with credit.

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