Insist

Trust 30 Challenge, Day 11

Imitation is Suicide. Insist on yourself; never imitate. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Write down in which areas of your life you have to overcome these suicidal tendencies of imitation, and how you can transform them into a newborn you – one that doesn’t hide its uniqueness, but thrives on it. There is a “divine idea which each of us represents” – which is yours?

At this point in my life I don't think I need to transform into a newborn me. I have already been transformed. The rest of my life will be a process of embracing this transformation. 

My kids switched schools two years ago. Since that move I have seen an astounding change in them. What's wild is that they haven't changed into someone different than who they already were. They have become more fully themselves. This is an ongoing process in me, too.

I believe my "uniqueness" is to live out my faith in Christ in a way that bucks tradition. One example is that I choose to love, not to judge. Here's a thought...you may remember that in Genesis God created the rainbow as a symbol of His covenant with Noah after the flood. Every time we see a rainbow we are to remember that He loves us and, no matter how bad things look, He isn't going to wipe out the human race. Now look at a Pride parade. Rainbows everywhere. Is our response, as Christians, to be angry that they hijacked this symbol? Or is it for us to look at them and realize that God loves each and every one of them as much as He loves us? Maybe they didn't hijack the symbol at all, maybe He filled that movement with rainbows for a reason. Hmmmmm. 

I'm not saying that choosing to love is easy (or that I'm an expert). And loving is different than endorsing. I have a lot of Christian friends that are making poor, non-Biblical decisions in their lives. Honestly, so am I. Debt, gluttony, porn addiction, love of money...the potential list goes on and on. And yet these are typically overlooked and even joked about while welcoming each other to church. We love each other through it, accepting without condemnation but also without necessarily condoning. With those we're closest to we may feel comfortable with a confrontation, but those are pretty rare.  I'm saying let's take it a step further and love those that we are supposed to be against. In fact, I insist on it.