GETTING TO KNOW THE "ME" IN YOU
I have been studying the life of David. He has always been one of my personal favorites because his story gives me hope! To see all of his sin and to know that he was known as a man after God's own heart is encouraging! The more I have studied and read about his life, the more clearly it becomes to me that what made David such a man after God was that he stepped out and owned up to all of his stuff!
C.S. Lewis said, "When I invited Jesus in my life, I thought He was going to put up some wallpaper and hang a few pictures. But He started knocking out walls and adding on rooms. I said, 'I was expecting a nice cottage.' But He said, 'I'm making a palace in which to live.'" King David didn't just live in a palace. He was a palace. And so are you! You are God's palace, God's temple. And He wants to dwell in you. But that requires major renovation. And it often starts with demolition. God needs to tear down our facades so He can re-lay the foundation.
There are things that you know about you and so do others. Then there are things that you know about you that others don't. There are things that others know about you that you can't see. This is when we all need a Nathan in our lives to point those areas out to us that need change. But most importantly, there are things about you that you can't see nor can anyone else. They are invisible to everyone except the All-Seeing Eye! This is where the Holy Spirit plays such a vital role in our lives. Until we are willing to see ourselves through His eyes, we'll never get a vision of who He wants us to be and who He is remaking us to be! Our TRUE identity!
We aren't very in to self-examination these days. We'd rather watch reality TV and live vicariously through others. We know more about our favorite celebrity than we know about ourselves. It's so much easier to work on someone else than ourselves! We must take a good, long look in the mirror. My daughter and I have been looking for just the right mirror for her bedroom for awhile now and just can't seem to find the right one. The ones we find are either too big, too expensive or not the right shape. Well, the good news for us is that the perfect mirror for our assignment is already within our reach and it is the Word! The mirror that gives us the truest reflection of ourselves is Scripture!
When we look into the mirror of God's Word, we find Him! The more you read it, the more you will reflect Him! The book of James likens the Bible to a mirror. Meditating on it is the way we can get an accurate picture of who we are....we can see the real "me" inside of ourselves. It reveals sins, wrong motives, attitudes....many of these that we may not even see in ourselves. Just as we study ourselves in the mirror when we get all dressed up to go somewhere, we must study ourselves in the mirror of God's Word to meditate on the reflection we see. 2 Timothy 3:16 says, "All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work!" So take a long, hard look into the mirror today and get to know the deepest thoughts and intentions of your heart. Invite God to show you the real you and ask Him not to leave you that way....He is your REDEEMER and RESTORER!!
