Who am I?

“If I were to describe myself today, I would say that I’m a loved and forgiven child of God.  You are too!”  That’s how I see myself most of the time. 

There are times, however. when I just see myself as old, broken, lazy, - oh so many things that are unattractive.  That’s one of the reasons I chose this topic.  It’s no fun to look in the mirror and see something you don’t like. 

So let’s look at who we Really are – what we could really see, if that mirror told the honest truth.  The first thing is that I’m an amazing creation from the mind of God!

Genesis 1:27  tells us that ". . .God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them."  and then Psalm 139:13-14 talks about how we were created.  "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb."  and I love this part where the Psalmist is excited about God's work - "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Wow!  Now if I were to see me in the mirror like God’s word describes me – I’d sure end up smiling in that mirror.

Also - I’m a part of Christ’s body and He lives in me. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul says, "Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.  And in Galatians 2, He says that, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

This next description is exciting – I’m not just my body.  I'm a soul, meant for heaven - for everlasting life.   As it says in John 5, "Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life."  and 2 Peter 1:10-12 tells us that “if we follow Christ’s example” we will  " . . .  receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

 
John 1:11-13
"He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God - children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God." 
Romans 8:17, "Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."
 
Wow!
So we’re God’s creation, a living soul.  And if we follow Christ, we are part of His body and a person who is destined for eternal life

Many times we define who we are, by who our parents were.  How about you?  When asked about myself, I might say, “I was raised by god-fearing parents”  Or I might say something else about my family.  But the truth is

I’m a child of the King! 

We should be happy with the “me” God made, because remember, He is the one who formed us.  The personality, the looks and the physical abilities that God gave you are just part of the “me” we need to be happy with.  God also want's to fill us with good things like Peace.  He told His disciples when he was leaving them.  "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you."  God's peace - not the world's.  

Of course there are things inside our hearts that aren’t “God given” in us – God calls that sin.  But we always need to remember that Christ died to pay for that sin. 

Romans 5:8 tells us, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Please know that sin is what we’ve done, not - who we are, because we are children of the Most High God - His sons and daughters.  We are his creation.  We are part of His body and we are souls meant for eternity. 

So God gives to us, eternal life, sonship, a body, soul and spirit  – but he also takes from us – our past, today's pressure, and our sin.  I love the picture that we read of in Micah 7:19 

Speaking to God, he says, "You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea."

Amazing - God will tread our sins underfoot and throw them in to the deep sea.  He takes away our past transgressions.

That’s what He saved me from. – my past, the pressure of this life, and the price of my sins, and He gives me peace.. 

What does he draw me to?

Himself!

Who Am I?

It’s so hard to see the picture that the one who made me saw,

while fashioning my features in His mind.

It’s so hard to see His plans for me, His perfect will displayed

when I look in memory’s mirror,

and I find -.

a messy tarnished drawing that is filling up the space,

as sin’s dark, blotted shadows aim to cover up my face

and show to me a likeness of the sinful human race.

The image there can’t show God’s love,

and it overlooks His grace.

But I have a new and heavenly mirror

‘cause God paid sin’s penalty

And as I look into that glass

a different view I see.

The dark and blotted shadows

have been cast into the sea.

And in that glass I find that

Love

has taken them from me.

Now I faintly see the picture

that the one who made me saw

as He fashioned my own features in His mind.

I faintly see His plans for me. His perfect will I read

when I look into the love He left behind.

Diane Gruchow Feb 2014

All bible quotes either KJV or NIV

Elephants and Mosquitoes

Do you sometimes feel that life is what it is, and there’s nothing 
you can do about it? 

Sometimes the things that are out of our control in our lives are mosquitoes and sometimes, they are elephants.  When we used to travel with our kids, we’d laugh at the other vehicles on the road.  We’d get behind an elephant (a big RV or truck) or a mosquito might whiz past us making a terrible noise and irritating the daylights out of us (a fast motorcycle or car.) 

Think about our lives as a journey, and the paths that we take as the highway we travel. We meet both elephants and mosquitoes on our journey through life.

The elephants are like trials in our life that are so big they instill fear and discouragement in us.  They hinder our progress.  We can’t go on the way we were heading because we’re stuck behind them.  Major disasters, loss of loved one, loss of a job, illness and major pain or age are all like elephants that we confront on this travel through life.  They are all huge and hard to get past, aren’t they? 

Then think of the mosquitoes as the little things that we turn into big things.  That could be rudeness in others, irritating situations, people who keep pestering us or maybe even the weather.  Waiting – that’s a biggie for most people.  How about noise or a dull ache that won’t go away?  

Many times, when confronted with mosquitoes (irritations) we respond in anger.  Just as we slap at mosquitoes when they irritate us – we tend to do that to a friend or a spouse or someone near us – we want to stop the irritation so we may be rude to them. We may not slap them physically, but our voices do just that. 

When we have to face an elephant – a big disaster, death or illness, we know we can’t control it and we feel helpless.  And since we know we aren’t in control we find that we’re more apt to go for help – to God, or to friends.  Or maybe we learn to deal that elephant named trouble.  Or we may learn to be patient.  That’s probably the hardest thing to do.

   – not so with mosquitoes, we think we’re bigger than they are.

We act as if we can do something about them.  Little irritating mosquitoes – they bug us and cause us to sin even more than the great big elephant events.  That’s one thing I think we can all work on – trying to see why some things irritate us.  We can also look under the surface of our anger - to see if the cause of that is impatience, our pride or our lack of love for others.

The way we react to irritations shows where our heart is – I for one, need to look beyond myself.

But in the big and small things – God really does provide help and comfort.  Let's look at 1 Peter 5:7 (KJV) and 2 Cor 1:3,4 (NIV) 

“Cast all your care upon Him for He cares for you.  

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,  who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”  

And in our troubles, we learn patience – which is the most amazing attribute of God – Wow! How patient He is with us!   

So when the elephants – the big trials of life - block our way, slow us down and make us detour from the plans we have – let’s remember that God has plans for us as well.  We read in …

Jeremiah 29:11 - 12 (NIV)
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you

And when the mosquitoes (the small things) irritate us, let’s remember that’s what they are – small things.  

I wrote this little poem because sometimes it's easier to keep things in my head when they rhyme.

The simple route I’d planned to take

turns soon into a jumbled maze.

A detour sends me to the side

then twists in fickle random ways.

I thought I had the map prepared.

I thought I knew which way to go.

I thought the route I’d planned was best,

but now I find that it’s not so.

And now an irritation comes - 

mosquitoes - they exasperate.

They chafe and sting and make me mad.

They bother vex and aggravate.

I thought I had the map prepared.

I thought I knew which way to go.

I thought the route I’d planned was best,

but now I find that it’s not so.

Back on the road I’m making time

until I find I’m blocked behind

an elephant of mammoth size,

and there’s no way to pass I find.

I thought I had the map prepared.

I thought I knew which way to go.

I thought the route I’d planned was best,

but “Who,” I ask, “is in control?”

  

Do you sometimes think that you are in control of the trip – and find that you’re not?  Mosquitoes and Elephants come into our lives to help us see that we’re not in charge.  But they also help us to know we have to depend on the master planner, the master map maker, the one who made the road.

God bless your travels.

Diane