If I claim to be wise, it’s only because of the wisdom the Lord has poured into me.
If I claim to be loving, it’s only because He loved me first.
If I claim to be meek, well, those of you who know me, know it’s only because the Lord has taught me about being patient and listening.
If I claim to be kind, it’s only because of the people God has put in my life that have showed me kindness and taught me how to be.
If I claim to be forgiving, it’s only because I have been forgiven.
If I claim to have knowledge, it’s only because of the opportunities the Lord has given me to learn and because He put special people in my life that taught me 1.“Once you realize that you don’t really know anything, that’s when you start to learn something.” and 2."You can learn something from anyone; it doesn’t matter if they are 5 years of age or 95.”
If I claim to be compassionate, it’s only because the Lord has shown me and placed me in situations that have broken my heart and open my eyes to a hurting world.
If I claim to be punctual, it’s probably because the Lord woke me up in time to be there, which He has done a number of times with loud noises and my pets, texts, phone calls; it’s pretty funny… but then again, I don’t claim to be punctual. I’m more like right on time.
If I claim to be honest, it’s only because the Lord has shown me that the way to truly reach people is to be transparent and share my struggles, my weaknesses, and my insecurities, and that light shines best through an open window.
If I claim to be well, it’s only because He has healed me.
If I claim to be persistent, it is because Jesus said to keep asking, seeking, and knocking and because He told me that nothing is impossible with God.
If I claim to be confident, it’s only because He told me in whom lies my true identity and my security, and again, nothing is impossible with Him.
If I claim to be giving, it’s only because I first received.
If I claim to be calm, it’s only because He told me not to worry. One of my favorites, Philippians 4:6-7 “Do not worry about anything, but in everything through prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God; and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
If I claim to gracious, it is only because I have been given grace.
The only thing I claim to be is a child of God. For in that moment, when I had a choice to choose to believe that Jesus Christ died for me on a cross as the Son of God, I chose Jesus. But even then, God had to draw me in. My twelve year old self stood there by a pew feeling a fight between wills within me, and though I didn’t know what was going on in me, very simply what I knew was that I felt a pull to go up and tell the preacher I say “Yes” but in my pre-teen mind I thought “There is no way I am walking up there in front of all these people!” Then my ‘quite unaware by nature’ friend Stephanie turns to me and says, “If you want me to go up there with you, I’ll go.” I had said nothing to her and had been standing there the whole time in silence fighting within myself. When she said that, it hit me, “God is real, and He really wants me.”
To show me His confirmation of how important that moment was to the Lord, after the service as the church members came by to give me hug, I looked down the line and saw my mom. My mom didn’t go to church at that time in her life, so when she got to me, after we quit hugging and crying, I asked her, “Mom, what are you doing here?” And she said, “I was sitting at home in the recliner, and something told me to come to church today. That today was going to be an important day.” My response was, “Mom, that something was God.”
That’s all I have to claim. For me, that's everything.
