August 11, 2021

In Maggie’s Farm, Dylan sings, “I try my best to be just like I am / Everybody wants you to be just like them.”

Something magical happens when your authentic self is in total cahoots with your public self. Usually, something childlike gets freed up: play, humor, lightness of being. Authenticity is deeply satisfying. And there is no faking it! 

The psalmist says, “You formed me in my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” (Psalm 139:13) Yes, original sin (including the sins done unto us) have damaged the original product, but thankfully not beyond recognition. Jesus tells us that we must be born again and ironically returned your identity as a child of God, saved by grace.

“Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to thee, so guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we may be wholly thine, utterly dedicated unto thee; and then use us, we pray thee, as thou wilt, and always to thy glory and the welfare of thy people; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (A Prayer of Self-Dedication – BCP p. 832)