“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).
It had been decades since many of them had seen each other. In their own way, every one of them had been successful. They had spent the biggest part of four years together. What would it be like to get to get together for dinner in that small university town that most likely had changed less than they had? Would there be a preoccupation with their cell phones? Would they try to outdo each other with the trips they had taken, the investments they had made, the cars they were driving, or the houses they had built? Actually, there was none of that. The post-observation comment from the one spouse who attended was that it was obvious that these folks actually had been good friends evidenced by the fact that they “picked up their conversations and assumed their prior roles just like it was yesterday.” Well, I must admit yesterday has now been awhile and physical appearances somewhat changed. But as I sat there listening, I realized that had I been at another place in the restaurant that evening, I would have recognized every single one of my old friends by their voice.
As we pass through this Journey we call life, there are moments in time that we must come to terms with who we are. Unfortunately, this image often becomes defined with how others see us and the roles we have assumed along the way. The various characters we play often become convoluted when we are asked to simultaneously be teacher, friend, parent, boss, and whatever other labels you might like to attach to those stations we have assumed. There are occasions when a soul-searching calculation of who we really have become must be made. Author Beverly Lewis ponders that question with her character Katie Mayfield in a Hallmark made-for-TV movie. The story is the conclusion to a trilogy in which the main character is torn between two worlds – the current life she has prepared for herself or the simple one she left behind in her heritage of the Amish culture in which she was raised. The conflictual narrative is aptly titled The Reckoning.*
There are likely various points in each of our lives that we are challenged with our own reckoning need. As we come to terms with who we are, we must learn to feel comfortable in our own skin. The psalmist said, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well” (Psalm 139:14). We learn to age gracefully, recognizing that we are no longer who we once were. If we are lucky enough to acquire some spiritual wisdom along the way – we will be thankful that we are no longer running a race with humanity but learning to walk with Christ. Paul said it this way: “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:2). If we live long enough, we will come face to face with our own mortality. And we realize that what has aged in this life will be made new again. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Defining who we are isn’t always easy, but one thing is apparent. When we pay more attention to what others think of us than what God does, we will always get ourselves into trouble. Bobby Schuller, grandson of the late Robert H. Schuller, has developed this confession for his congregation: “I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God.” When we are young, we are often asked the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” It’s amazing how many continue to ask that same question through their adult years, never seeming to find the guiding answer. So, when I had dinner with my college friends – I recognized that my physical appearance had been altered in those intervening years as well as my thought process. As I listened closely to their voices one more time, there was another all too familiar one that had joined in. It was my own, and it was the one that I truly understood best of all.
REFLECTIONS: In what sets of circumstances do you sometimes feel a competition for social status? What ‘reckonings’ have occurred in your own life that have shaped your view to be more in tune with God?
* The Reckoning premiers on The Hallmark Channel on October 11, 2015.
(MY NEXT WEEKLY DEVOTION WILL BE UPLOADED ON SAT., OCTOBER 3, 2015. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE REMINDED OF THE FREE WEEKLY POSTINGS, SEND YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS TO: LookUpwrd@aol.com YOUR ADDRESS WILL NOT BE SHARED)