Becoming Me

In "Kung Fu Panda" the lead character spends the entire movie trying to become someone other than himself. He grew up cooking noodles in his father's restaurant, but always dreamed about becoming a Kung Fu fighter. Ultimately, he's chosen as the "Dragon Warrior". His dream has come true until he realizes he has to fight the most deadly enemy around. According to all human wisdom, he can't win. At this point, he looks for a secret ingredient--something that can make him more than who he is. He's doubting his original call. "I'm not the Dragon Warrior!" he tells his master. He thinks he's just a big, fat Panda. His master tells him that he WILL be the Dragon Warrior when he reads the secret scroll which will bring him into his destiny. Kung Fu Panda opens the scroll and there is nothing in it. Actually, there is nothing in it EXCEPT a reflection of himself. At first, he doesn't understand. However, as the story develops, Kung Fu Panda comes to realize that the secret ingredient is actually being himself. That is what the scroll was telling him. It was his own reflection.

Many of us spend our entire lives trying to become someone other than who we really are. The point in Kung Fu Panda is that God has already created us to be who we are. The goal in spiritual growth ISN'T becoming someone else who is theoretically better than us. Spiritual growth is the process of becoming who God has ALREADY made us to be. This is to God's credit and His glory. If I let go of the false-self, the self-hatred, and learn to feel comfortable in my own skin, then my trust and confidence in God will begin to rub off on others without much effort.