Who are we? What defines us, holding our position above the animals, but keeping us placed "just a little lower than the angels." Over countless centuries man has posed this question, seeking an answer in every way possible. There's a reason we're so enthralled with this question and there's a reason we wish define ourselves with such a strong edge and with such bold lines. We want what is certain about ourselves.
We look to our talents, our friendships, our statuses, our marriages, and our physical possessions to hold up our souls. And rightly so, these are what are most tangible to us. These things are easily understood by ourselves and those around us. But our error is found when we believe that these are the core of our being, when we think that we are reduced merely to what can be defined by an earthly standard.
Our talents and relationships are all too to flimsy to give us any sort of true definition. They help, but they are not us, and they are not ours. Our talents only allude to the greater power of Christ, a mere window and beam of light to the greater sun beyond. Our relationships can only boast of His glory, not of our status in this world. We cannot control our core identity. As firmly as we try to grip those earthy bonds that hold us together, we lose that deeper sense of who we are.
We must, and I say must, believe first that we are made in Christ's image. This phrase may sound like a broken record, however, it's something not merely to be heard, but to be embodied and understood. Everything that we hold ourselves up with cannot sustain, will not sustain, unless we understand where it all began. He is the Artist, the Creator, the Friend, and the one that blesses us beyond comprehension.
Some say we are like snowflakes, all unique, while others refute that uniqueness, saying that this is a selfish notion. I wish to pose that, maybe in a way, we are snowflakes. Each our own, rich in complexity and beauty, with lines and loops to shape us into something lovely and unique to ourselves. But, because we are all snowflakes, so small and so delicate, we are all composed of the "same stuff." We are pure and lovely, but not by our own doing.
What breaks our Father's heart is when we curse ourselves. We blind ourselves to this uniqueness. We pinch the extra skin of our belly and quiet our hearty laugh, all in order to fit in, to define ourselves by a social standard,and we do an even greater damage than truly intended. We are not cursing ourselves, we are saying we hate the work of the Father. We are calling Him ugly, stupid, and unworthy. We reduce His most intelligent and beautiful design to ashes.
We are breaking the mirror that reflects His glory. But if only we knew in the richest sense that we are walking, breathing, loving images of the Father, we'd hold ourselves much differently. 1 Peter 2:9 tells us, "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." We are chosen to reflect Him only. Know that our hairs are numbered and our fingerprints tell thousands of stories of whom we are. We are so vastly different, and yet we are all the same; many little mirrors all reflecting one Light.
