November 4, 2008
Mirror Image
Adam
and Eve walked in Paradise. They lived in a place of perfection where every need
was met and in the very presence of God. Their identity was bound up tightly
into their image in God's eyes. All they knew about themselves was what they
discovered in a wonderful world, free of sin and what God shared with them.
There
was no "self-esteem" problem in the Garden. There was only
“knowing” who they were in the eyes of the fall.
Enter
Satan and dissatisfaction. Adam and Eve decided that they wanted to be more than
God had for them. In their desire sin entered, so did shame, fear, guilt and
confusion. The loss of personal identity is devastating emotionally, physically
and spiritually. It is no wonder that within a very short period of time, the
whole human race had deteriorated into evil and decadence to such a deep degree
that God would drown them all.
Without
the close presence of God people searched everywhere for their identity. They
followed every whim of the opinion of others. They tried every lie of the devil.
Things
have not changed we continue to search for our identities in all the wrong
places. We look into the mirror of what others thing or check ourselves in the
mirror of media images crafted out of airbrushed, plastic people molded into
some other person's idealized image of what they think someone should be like.
We
weigh ourselves on the scales of fame, success, education, possessions and other
invalid scales to see who we are. We try and shape our image through power and
possessions. If we don't like the way we measure up we drown the image in booze,
dope, food or sex, self pity and other dangerous avenues.
Our
constant seeking of true self drives ever downward in an empty spiral as we
chase something that the world was never designed to tell us. We cry out
"Who am I?" We wonder how we measure up but we have no adequate or
accurate scale. We wonder "Why am I here?" and hear either silence or
more meaningless lies coming back as an echo.
To
find our true selves we must seek once again to walk closely with the only true
measure. We must walk with God and dig deeply into His Word to see who we are in
His eyes. No other measure matters. No other true scale exists.
1
Corinthians 13:12 NET
For now we
see in a mirror indirectly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know in
part, but then I will know fully, just as I have been fully known.
We
will not fully understand who we are this side of glory, but we can know that we
are created in God's image and loved beyond measure. We can know that we are not
mistakes and have a purpose in life. We can know that we are gifted for service
with eternal tasks laid out for us to complete.
The
next time you’re confused or battling who you are, look into the eyes of
truth, the only mirror you need the eyes of God reflecting through the word of
God!
As
God is “I am” so “You Are”!
Darrel
Mason