By Josh Kerby
New staff has arrived! I couldn’t be more excited to build friendships with them this summer. Each year God brings new people into this ministry that fit so perfectly that you know they were destined to be here. We each have our little quirks and are different in our own ways. I think one of the greatest things about the staff is that we are all real with each other. We don’t have to show each other up or worry about how we look. We just accept each other for who we are and love one another as a family.
I used to be pretty insecure about myself. I used to think my laugh sounded girly because it was so high pitched, but after coming to Journey Quest, I realized I didn’t have to worry about it. I was who I was and they accepted me as family. I didn’t have to worry about how I looked or how crazy I can get. Although, most of them appreciate it when I shower more than once a week. The important thing is that they love me for me. They don’t want me to fit into a mold and be someone I am not. They expect me to be who God created me to be.
So often we see celebrities on TV being touted as the ‘hottest’ or ‘best looking’ and we feel like we have to look like them to be anything special in this world. We tend to look at everyone around us and wish we were more like them. The funny thing is they are doing the same thing with us too. We compare ourselves to broken people and try to achieve these unrealistic expectations of how we should act and look all the time. Some of the best qualities I have found in people, however, are selflessness, love, and simply being real. Some of the greatest people I know are real, they have taken off the fake facade, laid out who they are, and they live vulnerably.
This isn’t about what I think either, what is imperative is what God says about you. John 1:2 says, “But to all who have received him – those who believe in his name – he has given the right to become God’s children.” We are children of God! Growing up we didn’t care about what anyone thought about us but our parents. Now that we are older, why do we care so much about what others think when we should only be concerned with what our Heavenly Father thinks. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God.” We have become the righteousness of God through Christ Jesus! What is there to compare to here on earth? God loves you for who you are; He loves you because you are His children. I have written in my Bible “I am redeemed, I am loved, I am the apple of God’s eye.” I don’t care what others think about me. I just care what God thinks about me.
So when you are faced with insecurities about yourself, think about how God sees you. Look to His Word and see how He loves you for who you are. You don’t have to look like those in Hollywood, you don’t have to act like the people that everyone says is cool, and you don’t have to think of yourself any less because of where life has you. So take the mask off and let the real you shine. Don’t worry about trying to be cool. Just be yourself and you will be cool. God has called you by name as His beloved Child. So let’s be who God made us to be. Let’s be real. Let’s be the Children God created us to be.
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