To Be Like You....Let Them See You

     Ever had anybody want to be like you?  They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.  TV and movie personalities experience that form of flattery all the time.  In my teen years girls wanted either Dorothy Hamill's cute short hair or Farrah Fawcett's long blond do.  Now I know for some that's reaching back a ways.  But you get the picture.
     After dealing with a bit of this myself I have to say it can be a bit disconcerting.  Of course I'm not being paid to be a public figure like stars are so I would imagine they appreciate it more than I do.  While I have struggled with this for quite some time, I finally realized what was going on.  It wasn't my hairstyle, my car, my home or anything else that was desired.  It was what I have inside.  You see, while another person can look up to us, respect us, admire us even, the only way they should want to be like us is in our faith.   
     That brings me to another thought.  Is my faith what it ought to be?  I say I'm a Christian.  I was saved at the ripe old age of seven and baptized in the creek the next year.  Growing up I was always considered to be a 'good girl', responsible and trustworthy.  But today.  Today.  Is my faith what it ought to be?
     Recently JJ Weeks Band released a song called "Let Them See You"  I believe Colton Dixon also released the same song.  "Let them see You in me.  Let them hear You when I speak.  Let them feel You when I sing.  Let them see You....let them see You in me."  As I've listened to that song, I have prayed that be true for my life.  It can't be if I am living outside of His moral laws, or behaving in a manner unbecoming of a disciple of Christ.  But first of all, it can't happen if we don't know Him as Savior.
     Many people claim to be a Christian.  But are they?  They claim their lives to be blessed.  Are they really?  Do we see Jesus in them?  God tells us in James 5:16 ".....The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective".   So does that mean you must be righteous for God to hear you?  YES IT DOES!!!!!!  Proverbs 15:8-9 tells us "The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases Him.  The Lord detests the way of the wicked, but He loves those who pursue righteousness".  I believe that makes it very clear that if we are not right with God, He doesn't listen to our prayers.  If we haven't accepted Jesus and we're not living according to His example, we have no right to come to the Throne for anything!  In fact the Word tells us that the Lord DETESTS the sacrifice of the wicked.  If He detests their sacrifice, that's pretty obvious that He not only doesn't answer their prayers but definitely does NOT bless them.
     Ok so back to me.  Do they see You in me?  "Who am I without Your grace?  Another smile, another face.  Another breath, a grain of sand, passing quickly thru Your hand."  Wow.  I'm absolutely NOTHING without Jesus!  "I give my life an offering.  Take it all.  Take everything."  If I'm wicked, He won't accept me. If I'm wicked my offering is detestable to Him.  But if I'm righteous, He will accept me and bless me.  That's the ONLY way He will accept me and bless me.  How do I become righteous? 
     Do you know Him?  Do you see Him in me?  That is my prayer.  Accepting Jesus as your Savior and Lord is the only way to live free and be righteous. To be blessed.  To know love.  Real love.  Praying with your back toward God.  Claiming His blessings while living in disobedience.  Hmmmm......  Think about this.  Proverbs 28:9 tells us that "If anyone turns a deaf ear to my instruction, even their prayers are detestable".  Wow......if we are not living in obedience to the Word, God considers our prayers detestable.
     I don't want my Savior to consider me detestable, do you?  My prayer is that you see Him in me and want to know Him because you see Him in me.  That you don't want what I have but you do want WHO lives inside me.  Do you know Him?  Can I introduce you?