This post's content is something it took me forever to learn, meaning that I just learned this within the last year. I really just learned that God makes individuals.
This is a tough statement to understand. Mainly because a) of course we're individuals, so I must be stupid and b) I must be stupid. It might seem that way, but from my point of view, it's been hard to identify individuals for Christ.
No matter what denomination your church belongs to, there is one consistent thing within denominations: church people act the same at church. People who normally speak a bad mix of profanity and slang suddenly find their sophisticated voice at church. "Isn't it a great day to be in the house of The Lord?" "The Lord hath made this day for thine own rejoicing." (Note the grammatical awkwardness of the later statement.)
Their actions can change too. Someone goes buck wild at concerts might shove their hands in their pockets for worship, or someone who is socially awkward might dance and rejoice during worship. It's a strange phenomenon!!
We were not created to be carbon copies of one another; mindless robots wandering the Earth and being in control by God. If this were so, why would we have fallen in Eden? He created us as individuals, with little quirks and ticks that make us unique and should be used for his glory.
I'm tired of seeing Christian copies mindlessly wandering from church service to church service. I want to see authentic Christians, who love The Lord and the people they come in contact with. I want to see people who evangelize not put of routine religious obligation, but out of pure desire to see hearts transformed by the Gospel.
I'm tired of seeing different Christians elevated to an unattainable platform, so that your average Christian thinks, "Man, if only I had that person's gift of speaking... If only I could have a cool testimony like that... If only I knew how to play an instrument..." This type of envy is not a healthy, reflecting on an individual's walk with Jesus relationship. This is a relationship in which a person tries to become another person instead of being themselves in Christ.
Look at yourself today and ask, "Am I copying someone else? Am I mimicking someone else's walk with Christ? Am I focused on being this person rather than being myself in Christ? Am I jut another Christian carbon copy?"
Your Brother in Christ,
Phillip Gatlin
@PhillipJamesG
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