Take a Good Long Look in the MIrror

2:42 PMHeather

Who am I?  No, listen, bloggy friend.  Really.  Who am I?  Rest assured--I have not suddenly been struck with amnesia.  At least, not in the sense of some medical diagnosis related to a huge bump on the head or horrible accident.  Yet, as I dove further into the study of Gideon this week, I was shown how he had an identity crisis.  And, it made me realize that I have one myself.  Which I rarely even acknowledge.  I certainly don't deal with it, that's for sure. In fact, I just generally mosey on through life and ignore it.  But, the real truth of it is that I have spiritual amnesia, as Priscilla Shirer calls it.  I forget who I am in Christ.  I forget how much He's done for me.  I forget how desperately I need him.  I am just plain forgetful.  

So I look in the mirror day after day at my bathroom vanity, and I see myself without really seeing myself.  Can anyone relate?  You see the same face and hair and maybe a new wrinkle or two.  But, you don't really see who you are.  At least not at the core of who you are.  

You see what you do, and that becomes your identity.  You mother children.  You work hard in your job.  You work out.  You care for your husband.  You help your friends.  You care for aging parents.  These are all good things to do.  But, really--they aren't WHO you are.  They are tasks you conquer.  And while you feel they define you, at the heart of it--every label will fall short on identifying WHO you are. In the hustle and bustle of a busy life, it's so very easy to fall into the trap of being defined by your accomplishments.

Or, here's another identify crisis.  To whom are you affliated?  You are so-and-so's mom.  You are so-and-so's wife.  You are so-and-so's employee.  You have "X" number of friends on Facebook.  You have a connection to someone important because your cousin's aunt's brother's best friend is the neighbor of Taylor Swift.  Again, these relationships and connections are all well and good.  But, they aren't WHO you are.  They seem to define you, yet they really can't do you justice.

So you look in the mirror again.  Maybe you stop to consider the question.  WHO am I?  Perhaps you are hitting a big birthday and an identity crisis and self-analysis keep you up at night.  You grasp and maybe even ask those closest to you to help you.  Yet the truth of your identity alludes you.

I have the answer.  Or at least, I have the key to finding the answer.  

We all tend to look in the wrong mirror.  We look in the one hanging on the wall.  And it tells us something, but not the whole truth.  Or we look into what we do in a day or who we know.  But, this doesn't really clear it up.  Because we aren't looking at the right mirror.  You see, I've hit an epiphany this week.  Maybe you already knew this.  

But, until we look and dig and scour the mirror of His word, we can never see ourselves accurately.  We will never get the picture of who we really are.  Because when we look into the mirror on the wall or the mirror of our tasks or the mirror of our relationships, we tend to see things backwards.

We want to be the greatest.  But God tells us to be the least.

We want to gain the most.  But God says give it all away.

We want to be first.  But God tells us to be last.

We want to think of ourselves.  But God tells us to think of others first.

We want to win.  But God tells us to lose it all.

We want to succeed.  But God tells us to love.

This made me think of my son's 6th birthday.  He was dead set on having a Backwards Party.  Once I saw that he would not be moved, we set to work making our plan.  Guests were to wear their clothes backwards.  We played pin the donkey on the tail.  We ate dessert first.  And, the invitations were printed backward.  We included a note that instructed the parent to hold the invitation in the mirror in order to decipher the message.  It looked something like this:





If the guest did not use a mirror, they might have missed the message.  In fact, they may have missed the party.

What about us?  God renames us and defines us and gives us a new identity.  He has a lot to say about who we are.  But, if we don't look in the mirror of His word to REALLY see ourselves, then we may miss the message.  And, honestly--we may miss the invitation.  Or worst yet--the party.  The chance to truly fellowship with Him.  The chance to really rest in our new identities in Christ.  The chance to be released from the lies of who others say we are.  Who our circumstances try to tell us we are.  Who our enemy deceitfully whispers we should believe we are.  Our identity becomes like that backward invitation.  Jumbled.  Confusing.  Difficult.  Unclear.  A hot mess, really.  

But, when we hold ourselves up to the mirror of God's word, we can see the REAL translation.  We can soak and marinade in the truth of our identity.  We can be released from the chains of old wounds and old lies and worldly expectations that try to define us.  We can be set free to dance in the joy of who God says we are.

When you consider who you are, is this what you see?




Just plain confusion.  It's unclear.  It hurts to consider it.  

Listen, bloggy friends, I have an invitation to offer you today, and I won't put it backwards.  Will you join me in diving into God's word?  Let's purpose to look at who He says we are so that we can use those Biblical truths to be the most accurate mirror that ever was?  I think if we read it, consider it, memorize it, pray over it, speak these truths over ourselves, post it somewhere to see often...then, I think we are holding up the mirror of God's Word.  THEN, we will see a reflection of ourselves that will surprise us and empower us and equip us to be the overwhelming conquerors that He says we already are.  

Then, this is what we can grasp.




Do you recall that I talked a few days ago about I went digging into Genesis to realize more about who God says I am?  I posted a list for you from that treasure hunt.

Today, I give you this.  This pretty little picture you can click on and save and print.  This little mirror of God's truths from Genesis.  THIS is who God says you are.  Believe it.  For it is indeed the truest truth of your identity that ever was.


 

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