This Is Me

“But by the grace of God I am what I am…”
1 Corinthians 15:10 (NIV)

I’ve always enjoyed watching impressionists on the telly. Giving away my age, this interest was sparked by Mike Yarwood doing his famous impressions of Eddie Waring, Brian Clough and Frank Spencer. I can still remember how he caricatured the two main political leaders of the time: Harold Wilson with ‘this will not affect the pound in your pocket’ and Ted Heath with his characteristic grin and heaving shoulders.

At its height, Yarwood’s BBC TV shows regularly attracted 18 million viewers, and his 1977 Christmas show still holds the record for a single light entertainment broadcast in the UK. These shows were a mix of comic sketches, guest musicians, and a closing song sung by Yarwood which was always introduced by the line, “and this is me,” which became the title of his first autobiography. It was as if, after all the impressions, he wanted the viewers to catch a glimpse of the real Mike Yarwood.

Sometimes as Christians we can try to impersonate other people. We want to be a great preacher so we try to be like John Stott. We want to be a great evangelist so we try to be like Billy Graham. We want to be a great worship leader so we try to be like Matt Redman. We want to be a great singer so we try to be like Darlene Zschech. All of these people have been gifted by God in different ways for particular roles in the Body of Christ.  Our job is not to try to imitate the gifts others have, but to use the gifts God has specially given to us.

In other words, be yourself—be the person God has created you to be, and not an imitation of someone else. By God’s grace he chose to create you as you are because He thought that you are a good idea. He wants you to exist, so if you try to be someone else, you are not fulfilling the purpose of your creation. God wants us to be us. As we offer ourselves to God, dedicating our lives to him, he wants us to magnify the unique talents and abilities that he has given to each one of us and use them in service to Him.

What is it that makes you unique? What talents and gifts has God instilled within you? Ask God for his help to identify those things and with his grace develop them as best you can. Then you can designate them for God’s purposes and offer yourself to Him.  You can say to God, ‘This is me, the person you created and gifted, here I am, send me’ (c.f. Isaiah 6:8).

Prayer
Father, thank you for who I am: a unique child of yours. Help me to be the person you created me to be and to fulfil the role in the Body of Christ that you have prepared for me.
Amen

Study by Barry Robinson

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About the Author:
Barry Robinson is an Elder in and pastoral worker in the Greater London area, particularly the Camberwell and North London congregations of the Worldwide Church of God UK.

Local Congregation:
Worldwide Church of God London
Indian YMCA
Mahatma Gandhi Hall
41 Fitzroy Square
LONDON
W1T 6AQ

Meeting Time:
Saturday 2:30pm

Local Congregational Contact:
Martin Ryan
Phone:  020 8202 3998
Email:   martin_ryan@wcg.org.uk