CHRISTIAN LIFE & GROWTH

"Lord, Show me What I'm Really Like"

By Laurel J. Davis
See Laurel's blog at The Reluctant First Lady

Would you please go back and look at that title again.

Now, a question: Have you ever said that in a prayer to God? Have you ever asked God to show you what you're really like?

Maybe the question should be, Can you? Can you ask God to show you what you're really like? You know what they say — be careful what you ask for, because if you ask God to show you the real you, you know He will show you! [I]f we ask anything according to His will, He hears us (1 John 5:14). Are you ready to see it? Are you ready to see for yourself all that God already sees? Let's get real. We're talking about all of it — not just the good but also the bad and the ugly. Could you stand it?

This is written not to be critical or rude or even self-righteous, for we all cringe at the thought of being naked and open to Him to whom we have to give an account, and we want to run the other way.

But with Resurrection Day just past, when we should be thinking about what our Lord did to redeem us, isn't this the best time to take stock of ourselves, humble ourselves, turn our eyes inward instead of outward, and be willing to let Him clean house?

So, who's willing to take that plunge — "Lord, show me what I'm really like."

Okay, maybe you need a little more coaxing.

Consider what Jesus, the true vine, says about our Father the Gardener in John 15:2: He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. Then there's James 1:22-25 about how being a hearer but not also a doer of God's Word is the same as looking real quick in a mirror and then immediately forgetting and distorting what you really saw.

Don't we purposely hold up for ourselves little compact mirrors that are small enough to reflect only what we want to see about ourselves — you know, all those treasured little Bible verses we've so readily put to memory because we think we've lived up to them?

And maybe we have. But it's easy to hold up little mirrors to our good parts here and there, especially if we don't hold 'em up for too long. But "Lord, show me what I'm really like" and meaning it — now that's a long hard look in a full-length mirror!

There is no growth in Christ without authenticity. Authenticity about everything. This means recognizing, accepting and then repenting from all those things about ourselves that our Father wants to purge from us so that we can flourish in Him — those things like fear, pride, bitterness, stubbornness, insecurity, cynicism, self-righteousness, self-centeredness, foolishness, envy, carnality, indifference or whatever else lurks beyond the surface of what we'll allow ourselves and everyone else to see in us. If we'll just go ahead and ask to see what ugly things we have in us, then He who shows them to us is faithful to cleanse us, comfort and encourage us through the process, and bless us to grow.

Image Credit: luxstorm; untitled"; Creative Commons

Tags: Biblical-Truth | Christian-Life | God-Father | Sin-Evil