Discovering Who I Am

Archive for November, 2007

Every one of us have people in our lives who are difficult to love. It may be a boss or co-worker. Or they may live closer to home, like a friend, sibling, parent or spouse. They may be struggling with deeply-established life patterns of sin. They may be angry and reacting out of hurt and wounds. Or maybe they are someone we have to interact with regularly who is just downright mean. In many cases we really want to love them, and in all cases, as Christians, we are called to love them– even when they are our enemy. How do I love someone who is unlovable?

First, I have to remind myself that love is a powerful weapon of spiritual warfare. Love is a supernatural force of God which brings life to those who receive it. Second, I have to know that this kind of love is not tied to my emotions. I do not have to “feel” like I love the person; I choose to to love them. Love is a verb. And third (and most important) I have to believe in the invisible. This is what is meant in 1 Corinthians 13:7 where it is written that love believes all things.

This kind of love leads to a revelation of a person’s true identity in Jesus. This kind of belief entails a download from God of His heart for the person and an understanding of how He sees them. I come to know, deep down in my heart, that this individual is more than the brokenness, weakness or meanness they may appear on the outside. With this revelation and understanding comes the energy and endurance I need to love and serve above and beyond my natural ability.

When I believe all things on behalf of another person, I release God’s Spirit into their life to convict them of sin, to heal them of wounds and to draw them to Himself. He fills me with the wisdom of His truth about a person so that I can speak that truth into their life and cut away lies. Isaiah 49:2 says that He made our mouth like a sharpened sword. This sword can cut both ways. We speak out of what we believe, and that either builds a person up in agreement with God, or is a destructive force in their life when we speak out of only what we see in the natural.

All we need do is ask Him, “Who do You see when you look at this person?”

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue…” Proverbs 18:21

We each have a desire, or need, for something greater than ourselves; some bigger purpose or meaning in life. The prevalent questions of our age are, “Who am I?” and, “Why am I here?” There must be some reality beyond the small world within which I live today. There has to be some greater destiny than this meager existence.

American sociologist and theologian, Peter Berger, speaks of “signals of transcendence” or clues or signs that lead us to consider the possibility that we are not accidents of chance. I would go a step further and suggest that these signals of transcendence are glimpses of the Kingdom of Heaven; fingerprints of the One who created the universe and Who designed each one of us for a specific purpose and role within that universe.

There are universals, or principles of reality, upon which existence itself is ordered and built. For example, what some might call “karma” is nothing more than the natural law of sowing and reaping. Everything we do and say (dare I suggest everything we even think) is a seed that is planted in the soil of our own hearts and the hearts of others. No seed is neutral. It is either good or it is bad. Every seed will bear fruit, either good, or bad. Another reality of the law of sowing and reaping is “multiplication”. If I plant one seed of wheat (or of anger, or lust, or of love, or service), I can expect a harvest that produces dozens, or hundreds of it’s own kind.

These signals of transcendence can be seen much like we see signs of invisible physical forces such as gravity. I may take it for granted when I see a rock rolling down a hill, or a leaf falling from a tree. I may even forget gravity exists as I go about my day-to-day life. However, my ignorance of gravity does not make it any less a reality when I stumble and fall. Likewise, the spiritual and relational laws of the universe effect us whether we acknowledge or understand them or not.

I suggest we look for these signs and clues, as we might see that leaf falling, and come to know the One who left them for us to find. To know Him is to come to understand His ways and to know His greater purpose and meaning for our lives.

There are four basic systems of thought, or worldviews according to which we each operate (many times according to more than one, or all four): Our ways of processing life are either rooted epistemologically in thinking, existentially in feeling, or pragmatically in doing.

Many will respond to life’s challenges by thinking them through and formulating ideas and logically working through challenges in life to a point where one has a planed response to life problems. On the down side, they may think themselves into inaction by accepting thoughts of fear and failure.

Others react emotionally and seek to reconcile life’s difficulties in their heart. They grapple emotionally until they feel OK about whatever challenge life may have dealt. Unfortunately, feeling good can turn to feeling bad almost instantaneously.

Still others react by doing. To step out decisively and implement a program answers to the pragmatists felt need. Sometimes this can lead to doing everything but what is best in a given situation.

All the above systems of reacting to life can be valid, sensible approaches to solving life problems.

However, there is a fourth system which, when understood, becomes the foundation of the Christians worldview: Christianity is ultimately rooted ontologically, in being. Although thinking, feeling and doing are key to the Christian walk, we will never find real victory and transformation until we replace the “old man” or identity with the “new man” and BE what we were created.

Just as all points of the compass are critical to navigation but are all dependent on North as a point of reference; thinking feeling and doing are important to navigating through life, but will not result in true direction without their relative position to being. Once we have an inner revelation of who God created us to be, we have a “true North” from which we know what to think (West), what is a valid emotion (South) and what is sensible and productive to do (East).