Deep words from my 15 year old son. I was holding his notebook of lyrics, reading them - something he absolutely, positively hates me to do. But I had needed to move it so I was taking the opportunity - while it was already in my hand in transit - to flip it over and read what was on the other side of the blank page he'd left facing up.
He doesn't journal, but he does write lyrics. I found his sentence to be profound. I said it out loud a few times, loving the way he'd phrased the thought. There are times when we are struck- in a good sense or bad - with seeing ourselves as never before. Those times can stop us in our tracks and make us take inventory of who we really are.
I tend to believe that we make a clearer assessment of ourselves as we age- we are getting to know who we are more fully every minute, every day, each year. The older we get, (hopefully) the more comfortable we become with ourselves, which has its pros and cons. We begin to realize and accept that we have habits that will never really change, and while some of those are positive traits, some of what tags along with us are qualities we'd rather shake off and move away from. Aging also means that we have grown, we have accepted, and we can move forward in confidence, not being as concerned with the "Who am I?" question asked so often in younger years.
Still, those "seeing me oh-so-clearly" times come, no matter what our age. We may like what we see; often, we don't. That is because God is never done with us-He's always looking to shape us into the likeness of his Son. If I ever think I have arrived, watch out. I have another think coming.
As I pondered all of this, I thought of 1 Corinthians 13:12 - "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." What we are is abundantly clear to God - this verse tells us we are already fully known by Him.
When you make something, do you not know every thing that goes into it? You handle every piece; you know each part; everything is just as you designed it to be. God knows us like that, since He created us. Isn't that amazing?
I believe when we stand in His presence at the end of this life, we will finally see ourselves as God sees us, knowing every part of who we are and seeing how it was all put together in love. We'll be without a mirror, but we'll never have seen ourselves so clear before.
Oh, that is a fabulous lyric!
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