Mirror Image Seeing Ourselves as God Sees Us

I’m not overly a Christmas person though I do enjoy giving gifts and awkwardly receiving them… really awkwardly!

Thinking about this gift receiving awkwardness is what reminded me of what I had recently been reading in the book of James.

While reading through James Chapter 1 the last few verses really spoke to me,
23For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.

What I took from that verse and the surrounding verses is that I should see myself as God sees me. Which is as pure, holy, anointed, as bearer of light…. There are hundreds of different ways God sees us through his eyes of love, grace and compassion.

You may get something different and those more intelligent than me can tell me exactly what that verse means but that is what I personally took from it.

And there in lies the joy of a personal relationship with God. He made the bible personal to me in that moment, like he will do for you when you ask him to.

The issue I had with this is I’m not a big fan of myself at times and I like being hard on myself and thinking that no matter what I can accomplish I should redoing better. I take criticism fair easier than I take praise.

Then when I read scripture and what God says about me I feel great looking in the mirror of God and then I walk away and very quickly forget what he says and begin beating myself down all over again.

This could be my own personal issue, one that I personally deal with and think it’ll never affect those around me until I read James 2 – 8Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbour as yourself.”

God spoke when i read that… ‘Paul you care deeply for others and want to do right by them, how can you fully do this when you can’t love yourself?’

I’ll be honest and say that cut me deep. I Really do love people and try my best to look out for others, however a Royal Law (there isn’t much higher than a Royal Law) has told me that I must love others as I love myself. So if I don’t love myself how can I truly love others ?

I want to see others achieve so much and live the best life possible, but I don’t champion myself like this.

So what now? Now I ask God to help me see myself as he sees me. Thats the renewing of the mind Paul talks about in Romans. How am I personally doing this? I’m spending more time with God, more time reading about how he sees me, I’m deleting the negative music in my Spotify (I love X ambassadors but I don’t want to sing along to ‘Im feeling unsteady’)

This is a process but one that God wants us all to go through and to overcome negative thought patterns about ourselves. If we do this our communities will suddenly have incredible champions who truly lover others and can truly be light bearers.

Can I please encourage you to spend some time reading truths of God over your life, no matter how well or not so well you think you are doing. These truths will rejuvenate your soul and as a consequence those around you!

• I am a child of God.
But to all who have received him–those who believe in his name–he has given the right to become God’s children … (John 1:12)

• I am a friend of Jesus.
I no longer call you slaves, because the slave does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because I have revealed to you everything I heard from my Father (John 15:15).

• I have been justified and redeemed.
But they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:24).

• My old self was crucified with Christ, and I am no longer a slave to sin.
We know that our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin (Romans 6:6).

• I will not be condemned by God.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).

• As a child of God, I am a fellow heir with Christ.
And if children, then heirs (namely, heirs of God and also fellow heirs with Christ)–if indeed we suffer with him so we may also be glorified with him (Romans 8:17).

• I have been accepted by Christ.
Receive one another, then, just as Christ also received you, to God’s glory (Romans 15:7).

• I have been called to be a saint.
… To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, and called to be saints, with all those in every place who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours (1 Corinthians 1:2). (See also Ephesians 1:1, Philippians 1:1, and Colossians 1:2.)

• In Christ Jesus, I have wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.
He is the reason you have a relationship with Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption … (1 Corinthians 1:30).

• I am no longer a slave, but a child and an heir.
So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if you are a son, then you are also an heir through God (Galatians 4:7).

• I have been set free in Christ.
For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be subject again to the yoke of slavery (Galatians 5:1).

• I have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.
Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ (Ephesians 1:3).

• I am chosen, holy, and blameless before God.
For he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we may be holy and unblemished in his sight in love (Ephesians 1:4).

• I am redeemed and forgiven by the grace of Christ.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace (Ephesians 1:7).

• I have been predestined by God to attain an inheritance.
In Christ we too have been claimed as God’s own possession, since we were predestined according to the one purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will (Ephesians 1:11).

• I have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.
And when you heard the word of truth (the gospel of your salvation)–when you believed in Christ–you were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13).

• I am God’s workmanship created to produce good works.
For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them (Ephesians 2:10).

I hope that wherever you on on this process that this has encouraged you to keep pushing into scripture and listening to what God says about you.