Looking around the room, my eyes are on their plates. I want more, but she is already eating less than me. What are they thinking of me and what will they think if another scoop meets my plate? My mind is racing and everything feels rushed. My legs are moving too fast for my own thoughts. As I stand for more I feel the heat of the spotlights warm my back. Don’t forget to smile I remind myself. I’m standing on stage feeling naked and vulnerable. Once I’ve taken my seat, the performance isn’t over. My eyes glance over the room once more in attempt to read their minds based on expressions. My mind is so engaged on their amount and pace of consumption. I cannot breathe a sigh of relief until my plate is washed and put away.
I adopt the role of performer three times a day. I set myself up for failure by putting myself on a stage no one ever asked me to be on. That’s actually missing the whole point of following God and living free. You will run in circles trying to perform for a God who never asked to be anything other than the you He created you to be.
“For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord-who is in the Spirit-makes us more and more like him as we are changed into His glorious image.” 2 Corinthians 4:17
What is it going to take for you to lay down the character you play in the theater of life and adopt His glorious image of you?
Jesus has a funny way of telling me to knock it off. When I’m performing Jesus walks into my auditorium. He stares at me, laughs, and says, “what are you doing up there?” I miss the audacious idea that I’m a performer in front of an audience I don’t have to perform for. I have an audience of one.
