Most people know me as being brutally honest. A friend commented on FB yesterday when I spoke about being gentle with actions and words towards others “You have never been gentle but that's why I love ya! You tell it how it is while others tell it how it might be.” I love this guy- A true friend who has known me for years. (Prayers for him please by the way as he is deployed!) But honestly –A book I read a few months ago (“Grace based parenting”) got me really thinking about my approach to honesty. It spoke of tempering honesty with love…being candid instead of “brutal” This is really tough to learn (and unlearn), but I believe worth the effort, and I have been working on this in earnest. Continuing down the thought process of his comment and a few others lately, plus reading in Luke- I began thinking about the different perceptions people have of us and the roles we play. How others see us, how we see ourselves and how God sees us are all very different.
Who do they say I am…Who do you say I am? Luke 9:18… 9:20
While I know God’s view is the ultimate truth- I think there is a truth in the other two as well. I don’t know exactly what Jesus thought of Himself- but clearly He knew He had authority to speak, forgive, and heal on behalf of the Father. The Father said Himself that He was pleased with Him, and yet others were confused. Opinions of Him ranged from being the Christ, to being a worthless criminal worthy only of torture and death…talk about mixed opinions! If Jesus had this struggle, I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that we do too.
A few examples for me are- Co-workers and acquaintances sometimes see a rough, and sometimes harsh person, but I know that I just have rough edges caused by years of abuse and misguidance, and that untold numbers of those edges have been smoothed over. Some see me as brave or strong, yet many days I feel broken and afraid. God tells me that His grace and power are enough, and that I need not be afraid. When I feel ugly, filthy and worthless- He tells me I am His beautiful princess with great worth, and that He will use me for greatness if I let Him…. Wow- what a disconnect huh!
Maybe you and I can spend some time looking at who we really are. Together over the next few days / weeks maybe you and I can discover the roles we hold, and see if there is a disconnect between who “they” say we are, who we say we are, and who He says we are. Just a thought…
I may get a bit confusing as I go between the ideas of “perceptions” and “roles” but please bear with me! If I took the time to separate all this out it would months before I posted again!!!
So think about it: Who are you really? Publicly…Privately…Internally…to God?
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