How do we see ourselves?  How do we look upon and view ourselves?

I can only see so much of my own person with the two eyes that God gave me.  There are areas of my own body that are just completely off limit to my eyes.  I will never behold my own face, my own eyes, the curve of my own cheeks.  I will never be able to examine the slope of my neck when my hair is pulled up.  I will never observe the pattern of freckles that are splattered across my back.

I could look in a mirror; a piece of glass that forms a reflection or representation of who I am.  I could use a camera and take a photograph, an optical imitation of me.  But do either of those really do justice to that which is witnessed with our own eyes?

I had seen so many pictures of the Grand Canyon, but all of them combined couldn’t bring me to the awe I had when I stood in wonder peering out over the great gorge that fell before me.

As a parent, a photograph of my children does not hold a candle to experiencing their presence.  Even in moments of calm stillness of them sleeping in my arms is enriched by the warmth of their skin and the sound of their breath.

Yet, knowing this in my mind, time and again,  I return to that magic mirror on the wall or flip through the pages of a photo book to see who it is that I am.  I am quick to use those images to judge myself with my ever critical eye.  When viewing my reflection, I see what I perceive to be defects.  The extra weight that looms.  The hairs that are out of place.  The way that time is leaving its mark upon me.

It’s mind boggling to me just to think about not being able to see who I am with my own eyes on the outside.  What about the inside?

How it that I know who I am?  There is no piece of glass on earth so magical that it could give me even a representation of what lies in my heart or in my spirit.

Have you ever gone through a time where you wondered, who am I?  Have you been puzzled or stumped trying to figure out who you are or what you were made for?

Meditate with me for a few minutes upon 1 Corinthians 13:12, “Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.”

As I was pondering this in my heart I broke the verse down into what is NOW and what is THEN (then being at home in Heaven with God).  Heaven is always a fun thing to think about for me, so I started with the part of the verse pertaining to it.

THEN – “We will see everything with perfect clarity” and “I will know everything completely.”   Total understanding where we will see ourselves with precision and clarity.

Doesn’t that sound wonderful!  It sure sounds fabulous to me.  I am horribly near sighted.  To view myself now, without my spectacles, means pressing my nose upon the glass to see my eyes.

NOW – “We see things imperfectly.”  “All that I know now is partial and incomplete.”  We are missing out on so much.  What we see is not always an accurate representation of what really is.  There are things that are missing.  There are holes.

But I saved the best NOW truth for last, “God NOW knows me completely.”

God knows us right now in all of our splendid fullness.  He does not have to wait.  In all His glory, God has the ability to look upon us here and now to see us complete.  There is nothing puzzling, partial or incomplete to Him.  He gets the full view with His own eyes.  Isn’t that amazing?

God looks upon us inside and out.  “Man does not see what the LORD sees, for man sees what is visible, but the LORD sees the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

I ask myself today, where do I turn more to see myself, to God (who knows me completely) or to the mirror (to see puzzling imperfect reflections)?

At this place in the journey of my life, I do a good deal of both.  I’ve come a long way from only using the imperfect mirror, filling in holes with comparisons to others either in my life or that I viewed through media images.  But I still have room for plenty of improvement for turning to God first.

John 16:24 says, “Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy.”  If you and I want to know what we really look like, we must go to God and ask Him.  God will give us an answer of truth and it will be lavishly covered in His love for us.  From this we will receive abundant joy.  When was that last time you or I looked in the glass on the wall and experienced abundant joy?

I can not tell you exactly what God will reveal to you if you ask Him about yourself, but, I would like to share a few of the things that He has blessed me with when I have asked Him.

These are verses that God has used in my life.

God has reminded me how blessed I am because I have faith in Him, “Blessed is she who has believed that what the LORD has said to her will be accomplished,” Luke 1:45.

God has reminded me that I shine with a light unto this world, “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven,” Matthew 5:16. 

Jesus is my friend.  “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you,” John 15:15.

I have received the greatest love ever.  “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends,” John 15:13.

At other times there are messages I have received blessed messages that I record in my journals.  Like these, for example.

“You are a rich treasure – body, heart and soul.”

“You are one of my prized precious creations.”

“I love you, you as you are.  I cherish you.”

Those messages are so much more life giving that the messages I receive from the glass mirror hanging upon my wall.

My beloved friend.  You are a rich treasure, a prized creation and a precious & cherished gift!

Loving LORD,

Thank You for the generous reminders today that to view ourselves in all of the fullness that You created us to have that we must come to You.  May we come with open ears, open minds and receptive hearts so that we may soak in the abundant love and life You pour out to us. 

Thank You for Your precision and attention to detail that You gave to make us who we are.  Thank You for the compassion that You have for us that You can recognize and distinguish the one out of the billions of people upon this earth.  

May we accept, receive and return the love You shower upon us!  In Jesus name, Amen.