Finding Jesus in Me

What defines a life? Experiences? Circumstances? Or is it something more? We live out our lives according to how we view ourselves. So how different would we be if we saw ourselves as God does?

I sometimes wonder, in my sinful mindset, what God sees in me. What did He see that was so special it was worth Saving? It's a simple answer, yet it is so profound: Jesus. Even before He began creating the world, God saw Jesus in me and my life. God knew everything that would happen and everything I would choose, and in it all He saw Jesus. It is so humbling to know (not think, but know) that even at my worst, God sees not who I am, but who I will be. I was created in the image of God and when I look in the mirror, I should see Him.

It is all too easy for me to look at myself and see who I am to others: a daughter, a girlfriend, a roommate, a co-worker, a mentor, a mentee, etc... But does this define me? Am I limited to who I am in relationships with those around me? The only thing that does (and should) define me is Jesus. If I want to uncover my identity, I need to uncover what the Bible says about me...

"God created [wo]man in His own image." -Genesis 1:27


God's "hands made me and formed me." -Psalm 119:75


"When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days you ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." -Psalm 138:15-16


"In that day, declares the Lord, you will call me 'My Husband'; you will no longer call me 'my master'...I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledged the Lord." -Hosea 2:16, 19-20


"But God, because of the great love with which He loved us, made us alive with Christ." -Ephesians 2:4-5


"The king will desire your beauty." -Psalm 45:11


"For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her vindication shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch. The nations will see your vindication, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow. You will be a crown of splendor in the LORD’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God. No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate. But you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the LORD will take delight in you, and your land will be married. As a young man marries a young woman, so will your Builder marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you. I have posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the LORD, give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth. The LORD has sworn by his right hand and by his mighty arm: “Never again will I give your grain as food for your enemies, and never again will foreigners drink the new wine for which you have toiled; but those who harvest it will eat it and praise the LORD, and those who gather the grapes will drink it in the courts of my sanctuary.” -Isaiah 62:1-9


In Matthew chapter 5, Jesus explains to his followers that they are to be "the light of the world." But how are we to shine before men so that they would glorify God in Heaven, if we can't see that light within us? When I die, my desire is that people would look at my life and see Jesus. My desire for today is that people on the street would see Jesus through my words and my actions. But I know that cannot happen until I look at myself and look at my life and am able to see Jesus there. I need to see him working and moving and growing and teaching within me before he can shine, and I need to see him shining in me before others will see his light radiate from my life. 


So, sometimes I wonder what God saw in me that was worth Saving... He saw the Light of Jesus and how it would shine through me before ALL the world. Jesus is the only thing that can truly define me, and only when I acknowledge that, am I able to see Him in my reflection.