"So they said to him. ‘Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us? What do you have to say for yourself?’" (Jn 1:22)
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What if you could be anything, or anybody? Who would you choose to be? Would you be a strong business leader? A movie star? A sports hero or heroine? A famous politician?
A reporter asked the famous George Bernard Shaw that "what if" question before he died. Here is how he put it: "Mr. Shaw, you have visited with some of the most famous people of the world. You have known royalty, world renowned authors, artists and teachers. If you could live your life all over again, and be anybody you have known, or any person from history, who would you like to be?"
Shaw replied, "I would choose to be the man George Bernard Shaw could have been but never was."
What an insight! Very few people ever achieve all the greatness that is really inside them. Don’t wish to be somebody else. Wish to be yourself – but better. (Quote) [1]
Almighty God has a plan for each one of us. All that is necessary is for each person to try to discover what those plans are and strive toward their fulfillment in their individual lives. Indeed, what good is the Divine plan, if we do not make any effort to seek it?
We also ought to be very positive about our identity: Who we really are in the center of our being, minus the exterior or external trimmings. There is need to accept our weaknesses and our strengths, because these are essential ingredients of our character. It is through them that the Lord will try to work through and in us. As the above narrative tells us, we should never wish to be somebody else. We just have to improve our "selves" and try to hone whatever skills and talents the Lord has given us.
What are our deeply felt desires? Do we really wish to be the kind of person that Our Heavenly Father wants us to be? When we come to know what that is, we should learn to follow His will for us. A famous Filipino preacher says that God always speaks to us through our "deepest desires."
John the Baptist was certainly aware of his role as the precursor of the Messiah and he followed his mission as faithfully as he could, even though he had to die for it.
Do we really believe that to understand what God’s will is for us, we first have to know or find our real selves? Are we quite certain of our part in His plan of salvation? Do we really strive to seek to know what that role really is?
Let us pray to the Holy Spirit for guidance and direction as we try to reflect on our particular task and mission in the days ahead. Let us also pray to be open to God's leading at all times.
A reporter asked the famous George Bernard Shaw that "what if" question before he died. Here is how he put it: "Mr. Shaw, you have visited with some of the most famous people of the world. You have known royalty, world renowned authors, artists and teachers. If you could live your life all over again, and be anybody you have known, or any person from history, who would you like to be?"
Shaw replied, "I would choose to be the man George Bernard Shaw could have been but never was."
What an insight! Very few people ever achieve all the greatness that is really inside them. Don’t wish to be somebody else. Wish to be yourself – but better. (Quote) [1]
Almighty God has a plan for each one of us. All that is necessary is for each person to try to discover what those plans are and strive toward their fulfillment in their individual lives. Indeed, what good is the Divine plan, if we do not make any effort to seek it?
We also ought to be very positive about our identity: Who we really are in the center of our being, minus the exterior or external trimmings. There is need to accept our weaknesses and our strengths, because these are essential ingredients of our character. It is through them that the Lord will try to work through and in us. As the above narrative tells us, we should never wish to be somebody else. We just have to improve our "selves" and try to hone whatever skills and talents the Lord has given us.
What are our deeply felt desires? Do we really wish to be the kind of person that Our Heavenly Father wants us to be? When we come to know what that is, we should learn to follow His will for us. A famous Filipino preacher says that God always speaks to us through our "deepest desires."
John the Baptist was certainly aware of his role as the precursor of the Messiah and he followed his mission as faithfully as he could, even though he had to die for it.
Do we really believe that to understand what God’s will is for us, we first have to know or find our real selves? Are we quite certain of our part in His plan of salvation? Do we really strive to seek to know what that role really is?
Let us pray to the Holy Spirit for guidance and direction as we try to reflect on our particular task and mission in the days ahead. Let us also pray to be open to God's leading at all times.
End Notes for this Bible Sharing
1. "The Next 500 Stories" by Frank Mihalic, SVD, n. 204, "Find Your Real Self," p. 100, Logos Publications, Inc., Manila, 1993.
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