Bob.

I've noticed a pattern. Not in anyone in particular, but in all of us as Christians. 

We like to copy each other.

A lot of us believe in Creationism, but it's still a big game of monkey see, monkey do. (Ok, sorry, I had to throw that one in there... ;) 

This topic has been on my mind for a long time, and I think that God has finally given me the words to talk about it. 

It goes like this. 

You get a person who has a great relationship with God, and it shows in everything they do. They have a sweet personality, they dress a certain way, they get along well with everybody.

People see this person (let's call him Bob), and go, "Wow... Bob is such an amazing Christian. I want to be like that." 

But how do they do it? When they say "I want to be like that," do they mean they want to be an amazing Christian, or that they want to be like Bob? All too many times, we get confused by that. Then this happens. 

Ew. Not literally. But basically what I mean, is that we become carbon copies of Bob. We talk like him, act like him, dress like him. We try to convince everyone else that we're like Bob, because he's such an amazing person. Then, soon enough, someone is going to come around seeing how Bob is and how we are, and want to be just like that too. 

After a while, Bob's the word. The unspoken rule. The standard. Bobs are cropping up in each pew and corridor. And what's the problem with this? 

Bob picks his nose when no one's watching. 

He swears when he stubs his toe. 

Sometimes, he takes a banana chip from the bulk food bin at Winco. 

In other words, he's human. 

But because we perceive him to be almost more than human, we not only try to become Bob, but we try to become SUPERBOB. 

The Bob without faults. 

The Bob without struggles, doubts or drama of any kind. 

The Bob who isn't real. 

We then create this perfect standard of what we're all supposed to be like and how we're all supposed to dress, act and essentially become... and it's not realistic. We only make it look realistic, because faults and troubles don't just melt away once you become Superbob, you just keep them secrets because everyone else is doing soooo much better than you are. 

It's funny, because we think that if we copy the best Christian we could find, we'd be doing what God wants us to. But does God want us to be someone else? 

1 Corinthians 12:27: "Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually." Paul goes on to talk about how everyone is given different gifts. We all have different talents, personalities, senses of humor, likes and dislikes. He didn't create us to have the same style and personality. He wants us to trust that He'll help sanctify us to become better versions of ourselves, not someone else. 

And after Paul talks about all the different gifts, he says, "...And yet I show you a more excellent way," and it leads into the next chapter. 

That chapter is 1 Corinthians 13, also known as the "love" chapter. 

If there is anything we're supposed to do the same, it's to be loving towards each other. Even when people wear shoes that don't match or scratch their armpits in public. Even if they think that pirates are cooler than ninjas or are constantly saying words like "Epic" or "Legit" as adjectives in casual conversation.

So you can say that Superbob is dead, but Jesus is very much alive. 

We'll never be able to function if we all pretend like we're perfect, but we don't have to. 

We're real people. And it's pretty awesome.