“But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.” Luke 18:13
It’s the only place where I can be who I am. It’s the time where I bring all my thoughts. It’s the time where I can express all my feelings. I can take off all pretensions and bare my all. No mask required. No false images of myself. I do not need to look someone else I am not. I can raise my victories as well as my failures. I do not need to pretend that I am not a work in progress. I can bring out my sins; I can expose my weaknesses. I do not need to look righteous or strong. I can say all my life worries and concerns, my present difficulties and my trying times. I do not need to look that I can do it on my own. I can hoist my dreams and hopes for the future. I do not need to dwell on the darkness of my past or the broken pieces of the present.
The tax collector prayed to God and he prayed with all honesty. Praying he needs what he needs. Praying he is what he is. He comes to God presenting himself, his true self. He comes to God, without anybody’s identification but bares his whole wrecked heart and humiliated face. He was being himself before God.
Friends, before God we can be who we are without diminishing His love for us. We do not need to present to Him someone we are not. He knows us deeply and when you and I are in His presence, we can say – I am free to be me.
P.S. Check out this song – “Free to be Me” by Francesca Battisteli
HEADWIND CANOE 