Who Knows You?

Bible Reading:   Psalm 91:1-12

He orders his angels to protect you wherever you go.   Psalm 91:11

Trevor couldn’t wait to reach middle school. He could finally take Tech Ed. He imagined that his first class project would be to put a loft in his bedroom. His next would be to build a house-sized half-pipe for backyard skateboarding. And his crowning achievement would be to erect an Olympic-sized ski jump on the empty lot behind his school.

Trevor was totally disappointed when he learned that Tech Ed class only lasted forty-five minutes. He was wildly discouraged when his teacher said his first assignment was to make a little knickknack for home, picking from a half dozen designs for napkin holders, recipe boxes, and dresser organizers. But Trevor doubled over in dismay when he received his project back. The grading sheet attached by the teacher screamed “F.” At the top of the sheet was scrawled a question: “What is it?”

If you’re looking at someone’s thingamabob school project and you can’t figure out what it is, there’s only one place to find out. You ask its creator.

So if you’re trying hard to figure out who you really are, who should you ask? The One who made you, of course. God is the One who knows exactly who you are.

So how exactly does God see you?

First, God sees you as eternally lovable.He is your Father. He created you in his own image (see Genesis 1:26-27). You are the best expression of his creative genius. In response to your faith in Christ, he welcomed you into his family as his child (see John 1:12-13). God loves you so much that he appointed his angels to watch over you (see Psalm 91:11-12).

Second, God sees you as infinitely valuable. At the Cross God declared to everyone listening that you are worth the gift of Jesus Christ, his dearly loved Son. If you ever put a price tag on yourself, it would have to read “JESUS!” because it was the price of Jesus’ life that God paid to save you (see 1 Peter 1:18-19).

Third, God sees you as thoroughly capable. Paul boasted, “I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need” (Philippians 4:13). God trusts you so much that he left you on earth to complete the ministry Jesus began. He’s given you the job of leading people back to him (see 2 Corinthians 5:20).

If you want a clear view of your true identity, you need to see yourself as God sees you—no more and no less. You’re lovable, valuable, and capable. No doubt about it, that’s what you are!

TALK: Have you ever felt like a messed-up school project? Who do you listen to when you want to know who you really are?

PRAY: Father, help us to see ourselves as you see us—with your true view.

ACT: Tell a friend what it means to be lovable, valuable, and capable.

 

 

The Boy in the Mirror

Bible Reading:   Ephesians 4:26-32

Don’t sin by letting anger gain control over you. Think about it overnight and remain silent.   Psalm 4:4

AN OLD CHINESE folktale tells the story of a young boy who had never seen a mirror before. One day while the boy was playing outside, his father brought home a mirror and hung it on the wall of the house. Sometime later, after his father had gone back out to the fields to work, the boy came home.

He saw the mirror on the wall but didn’t understand what it was. He looked with fascination at the boy in the mirror. He thought his reflection was a boy who had come to play with him. He waved, and the boy in the mirror waved back. He smiled, and the boy in the mirror smiled back. He said, “Let’s play!” and the boy in the mirror said, “Let’s play!” at the same time.

When the boy walked out of the hut, he looked around for his new friend. But the boy in the mirror did not follow him outside. He waited, and the boy in the mirror did not come. Finally, he began to get upset. He walked back into the house and saw the boy in the mirror, just where he had left him!

“Why will you not come and play?” he said, and the boy in the mirror spoke the same words he did. Then he began to get really mad. He is mocking me! he thought. He is copying everything I say!He frowned in anger, and the boy in the mirror frowned back. He lifted his fist, and the boy in the mirror did the same. Finally, he could not control his anger any longer and threw his fist at the face of the boy in the mirror. Instead of hurting the other boy, though, his punch shattered the mirror and sliced his fist into a bloody mess.

That folktale teaches an important lesson. Our anger often hurts us more than the person at whom we’re angry. Bitterness, rage, anger, and harsh words usually bring us more pain and hurt than the people we direct them toward. If you nurse a grudge against someone, you’re the one whose happiness is most affected. If you hold bitterness in your heart toward someone, you’re more likely to lose sleep or get an upset stomach than the other person.

That’s one reason God wants us to learn self-control. It is so much better to control our anger instead of letting our anger control us. That doesn’t mean that anger is always wrong (it’s right to be angry at evil, for example). But it does mean that self-control is always right.

REFLECT: Do you have trouble controlling your temper? Does your anger ever get out of control? Have you gotten rid of “all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of malicious behavior” (Ephesians 4:31)? If not, are you ready to ask God to help you develop self-control in this area?

PRAY: “Dear God, please help me by your Holy Spirit’s power to control my anger instead of letting my anger control me. Make me kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving toward others, just like you’ve been toward me.”