Aren't We Supposed to be Like Jesus?
God wants you to be yourself. We all want to be ourselves. But aren’t we supposed to be like Jesus? Yes!
When people want to be themselves they typically refer to not being anxious around certain people and/or places. This could be a significant other, family members, friends, or strangers. Maybe you don’t feel yourself while at church, in class, at work, etc.
The functional belief (not necessarily verbalized), “I have to be better,” goes with you wherever you go and gets triggered when you are in certain situations and/or around certain people. Anxiety influences you to feel like you need to be better.
Being yourself does not require you to be better or self-righteous. Sometimes being yourself means confessing or sharing your struggles.
Galatians 5:1 states, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery?” In this context the “yoke of slavery” is referring to the law. It is not referring to sin. Later, we see that if you desire to be justified by the law then you have fallen from grace, severed from Christ.
You are Already Accepted
What makes me want to be better? Is it so I can be accepted? God has accepted me not because I behave better or am trying harder. Being yourself means you no longer live up to the law so that you might be accepted.
God will lead you to no longer strive, to finally be yourself. This is how you have been designed, to be accepted on the basis of Christ‘s work, and not yours. Read more of our Anxiety blogs.