Take Me As I Am

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“Much of our difficulty as seeking Christians stems from our unwillingness to take God as He is and adjust our lives accordingly. We insist upon trying to modify Him and bring Him nearer to our own image.”

~ by A. W. Tozer ~

“Take me as I am.”

We say that — aloud or tacitly — to each other every morning when we head out into the world and interact. Every look, every gesture, every word that comes from our mouths, the clothes we select, the jewelry with which we adorn ourselves, the hairstyle we sport, the car we drive, the home in which we live . . . everything that makes us our unique self is, in essence, a cry to the world: “This is me. This is who I am. This is what I’m about. These are the things that matter to me. Please take me as I am — and love me anyway.”

We spend our entire lives trying to figure out the answer to a deceptively simple question: “Who am I?” We change jobs, professions, clothes, hairstyles, hobbies, activities, friends, life partners . . . trying on different styles to see if they “fit” and provide us with the answer to that question, even though, as we are questioning, other people are making ongoing assessments and drawing conclusions about us based upon their observations.

There are many people who believe that the concept of “God” is static: Unchanging, unyielding, unbending, already fully evolved. They urge us to “take God as He is.” In my experience, many people who describe “God” in that way see “Him” as an entity or being that exists “out there” somewhere. In other words, they talk about “God” as being external to themselves, separate from but related to them.

There are others who see the concept of “God” as ever-changing, evolving, expanding and contracting, unique to a particular situation or circumstance. There are folks who believe that they are one with “God,” and “He” dwells within them and they within “Him.” There is no separation of entities because they are the manifestation on earth of “God” by virtue of being “His” creation.

It seems to me that, for the former group, quotes like that selected for this week resonate because they are consistent with the notion that we are the ones who are malleable while “God” is not. We are capable of change, but “God” never changes, nor do “His” expectations, hopes, dreams and, of course, forgiveness when we fall short of the goal of molding ourselves to perfectly mirror “Him.” We are inherently rebellious, but “He” forgives our rebellion, loving us in spite of our foibles.

And it seems that those who adopt the latter approach see “God” as an extension of themselves so that, as they evolve over the course of their lives, so does “God” and their internal concept of Godliness or God-likeness. They strive to attain a higher level of understanding of what it means to be Godly, not for the purpose of achieving acceptance, love, forgiveness and concomitant perfection — because those things have, in actuality, already been freely given — but because they seek to understand fully what it means to live in harmony with “God” as they perceive “Him.”

So for an individual who perceives “God” in that manner, the above quote might take on a different kind of meaning. The idea of taking “God” as “He” is relates more to accepting and loving oneself, acknowledging the inherent worth and equality of every individual. Less emphasis is placed on obedience, discipline, adherence to a prescribed set of rules and regulations, and more energy is devoted to achieving justice, tolerance, egalitarianism because of the inherent value of those concepts rather than because achievement of those goals is dictated by an external power or force. Adjusting one’s life and the world around oneself is less about conformity with a universally accepted, stock image of what it means to be Godly or God-like than tailored to developing a life image that is uniquely and especially one’s own.

Is there actually a distinction between the two lines of thought? If so, does it matter?

I believe that it only matters when we use our personal understanding to declare that our way of perceiving “God” and “His” plan for the lives of other persons is the only correct way. No one has an exclusive understanding of the manner in which to attain or achieve “God’s” unconditional love, acceptance or forgiveness, or the gift of unending life. Those things have already been imparted to each and every person. No one has a perfect understanding of who or what “God” is or how “He” thinks or reasons. Rather, we all need to honor and respect each other’s individualized understanding and perception of the Divine Creator and trust that the Spirit works in every other person’s life as surely as it does in our own.

My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us — perfect love!

This is how we know we’re living steadily and deeply in him, and he in us: He’s given us life from his life, from his very own Spirit. Also, we’ve seen for ourselves and continue to state openly that the Father sent his Son as Savior of the world. Everyone who confesses that Jesus is God’s Son participates continuously in an intimate relationship with God. We know it so well, we’ve embraced it heart and soul, this love that comes from God.

1 John 4:11-16

Please take me as I am — flawed, incomplete, evolving . . . a work in progress — and love me anyway. I, like you, am created and dwell in the image of the Divine Creator who loves us all completely and unconditionally.

Thanks go to Deborah at Chocolate and Coffee for hosting this week! Drop by and read the other participants’ discussion of this week’s quote.

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