I feel uncomfortable when I encounter
the term “the best version of myself” in some Christian writings
in recent days. What is being implied? That there are other
versions of myself from which I
may pick and choose at will? Are some versions better or worse than
others? How many faces do I have that I may show to the world?
Is there a version I may wear when I'm
all dressed up for church? A pious version?
Is there a home-style one I can put on
when with my family who know me only too well? A bedroom slipper
version?
A business or professional version of
me? A briefcase version?
Or a private, intimate version that
only God sees? The heart version, the inner man?
Are my versions interchangeable like
masks which I may change on a whim depending on the situation? I
don't think so. It would seem that God is in the business of
transforming us into one authentic version—what
you see is who I am.
The Jesus version is the one
single version God is working on through all the seasons and
circumstances of my life. He doesn't allow masks like in a masquerade
party to disguise who we really are or to keep people guessing.
The Jesus version is one-size-fits-all. We are each unique and God has the very best
version of us in mind from the very beginning—He has promised to
finish working on what He has begun. “For I am confident of this
very thing, that He who began a good work in you will complete it
until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6).
MASQUERADE PARTY
I play games with myself
and with others too
pretending to know who I am
where I'm going
and why.
Sometimes I even convince myself
that I have it all together.
I put on a mask
to keep you from knowing me
although I want you to know me
but I'm afraid
that the me you'll see
is not the one
I want you to know.
I put on a facade
even to God
but it doesn't work
for He sees right through
my flimsy mask
yet never asks
me to be something other
than what I really am.
Since I am in Christ
I can put away
my various masks
and all of that sham.
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