I want you to consider how you would describe yourself in three words. These words cannot apply to your role but should describe a character trait such as funny, positive, smart, caring. How do you see yourself?
If you were to write down those three words that you used to describe yourself, I almost guarantee that if you had your mother, sister, best friend or other loved one write three words about you, the words would not match. And why is that? My opinion is that the self that we see in the mirror is an image from the inside out, while the image that others see is from the outside in.
Looking from the inside-out is a protected view. It is that aspect that separates us and only you know the good, the bad and the ugly of your life. What you may use to describe yourself is insecurity where others see humor, or you may see powerlessness where others see a servant’s heart. The inside-out view is tied to our personal narrative, and the ironic twist is that while it is ours to control, it may be controlling you.
So then, what influences the way we view ourselves? Well, there are obvious answers of social media and advertising that impact body image, but what are the pressures we put on ourselves independent of those things?
While our self-identity can also be impacted by the world around us, it is more profoundly shaped by those closest to us. We need to make sure that we are surrounding ourselves with not only people who are interested in building each other up but doing so in a way that honors God and makes sure that His voice is the center of our narrative.
So how does God see us? I want to let his voice be heard loud and clear through the scripture.
To begin with, we were made in His image.
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
Genesis 1:27 (ESV)
We were chosen by God before the creation of the world.
“even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.”
Ephesians 1:4 (ESV)
God knew us before we knew ourselves.
“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.”
Psalm 139:13 (ESV)
These verses stand as God’s testimony to our value and worth in His sight. He chose us, He knew us, He made us. Our identity begins with God, and this should serve as the foundation of our identity. God looks past the good, the bad and the ugly and sees us for who we truly are. One of my favorite verses on this topic is the passage where Samuel is sent to anoint the next king over Israel. And the Lord tells Samuel:
“Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
I Samuel 16:7 (ESV)
God sees us through the eyes of compassion. He never expected us to be perfect or He wouldn’t have made a plan from the beginning of time to send Jesus to die for our sins.
In scripture, we are described as conquerors.
“…in all things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
Romans 8:37 (ESV)
We were created for good works.
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
Ephesians 2:10 (ESV)
We are a holy people.
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of the darkness into his marvelous light.”
I Peter 2:9 (ESV)
Our self-identity should include these traits – conqueror, worker of good works, holy.
Giving God the Glory 