To be your true self…you will have to drop the masks you’ve spent years crafting.

(Listen to my song “Take the Road Less Traveled” on YouTube by clicking HERE)

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Matthew 13:54-57

He came to his native place and taught the people in their synagogue. They were astonished and said, “Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds? Is he not the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother named Mary and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? Are not his sisters all with us? Where did this man get all this?” And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and in his own house.”

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Some people seem to think that not changing is a medal of honor.

They praise people for holding tight to a position…and they ridicule people who change a position.

But listening to new information, weighing it, and then changing your view is many times the mark of a wise person.

Life can change a person as well. It ought to.

It ought to broaden your viewpoint. That’s because there are many, many other viewpoints different than just your own.

When you follow the self-emptying path of Jesus…your life is meant to change.

Like he said, “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit” (John 12:24).

We are meant to “die” to our own self-centered desires…so that our true self can rise and bear “much fruit”.

This will require dropping the trappings of our false self…all the various masks that we fashion and wear.

On a trip to Jerusalem at age twelve, Jesus was said to have “astounded” the teachers in the temple with his understanding. And then the scripture says, “Jesus advanced [in] wisdom and age and favor before God and man” (Luke 2:52).

He grew. He changed.

After his transformational experience in the desert following his baptism by John the baptist, Jesus returned to the town he grew up in. He was a man with a mission.

And the people there “took offense at him.”

To be your true self, you must be willing to follow your calling.

This will lead you to change.

This will challenge others to change as well. Then, you can count on others to “take offense.”

If and when this happens, it’s helpful to find a community to support you.

Know this: The living Christ will never abandon you.

Have faith in this…and live.

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Listen to the song of the day “Take the Road Less Traveled” on the Live to Love album by clicking HERE.

Stream and/or purchase my songs on iTunes by clicking HERE.

Remember…God loves you!