If God Is "I AM', then Who Am I? - Day 1

Day 1 – lenses and lights

On a wintry Thursday afternoon,

I stepped into His presence,
not for applause, but for warmth.
“I feel naked.”

“You are. And you have been for a long time.” 

                                               –MAX LUCADO

Have you ever thought about all that is involved in self-analysis? Have you ever reflected on self-reflection?

At first glance, self-reflection seems to be a simple exercise. Just think about yourself, analyze your strengths and weaknesses, then stand to your feet and do something about it. Diligence would appear to be the only prerequisite. "Just do it!" would seem the appropriate slogan. "I already understand self-analysis," you say. "My only problem is that I don't practice it.”

The truth is we neither understand nor practice self-reflection enough. And since understanding most often should precede practice, we must seek to learn what we are trying to do before we take our first glance inward. We must study the art of personal endoscopy.

Consider for a moment the physician's endoscope, the instrument he or she uses to visualize the stomach or colon. It is a long fiber-optic tube with multiple lenses. Now it matters greatly that these lenses are the correct ones. Anything other than the exact specifications will result in a distorted image and a worthless procedure. But even if the lenses are perfect, nothing will be accomplished unless the doctor has a source of light to shine on the area of interest. He cannot visualize an ulcer in the esophagus, a cancer in the stomach, or a polyp in the colon without it. He cannot know which areas to examine more closely, which he should biopsy and which he should leave alone, without such illumination. That’s why all endoscopes come with a built-in source of light. Without it, the physician could be blessed with perfect lens-aided visual acuity and still have no idea of the inward health of his patient.

In the same manner, it is impossible for you to self-reflect without some sort of "lens" to bring your life into focus. Almost everything you do is filtered through a set of "lenses" called presuppositions (prior assumptions). If you use the wrong lenses in self-analysis, the image before you will be distorted and you may never see the truth about yourself. It is imperative, then, before you engage in self-reflection to make sure your presuppositions are the ones that can bring clarity and truth.

But there's one thing more. Like the endoscopist, you must have a light source to show you the way. Your life must be illuminated in order for you to see its inward parts. You need this light source to see what areas should be “treated” and which ones should be left alone. In short, you must have a spiritual spotlight to examine the state of your own soul.

Self-reflection, therefore, is not as simple as it seems. Some preparation is needed. Are you looking through the right lenses? Do you have a light to show you the way?

SELF-REFLECT

1. Which statement below best describes you?

     a. I tend to look outward more than I look inward.
     b. I tend to look inward more than I look outward.
     c. I tend to look inward and outward equally.

2. At the present time, which statement below best
    describes you?
    a. I believe there is a God.
    b. I am not sure there is a God.
     c. I do not believe there is a God.

3. Which statement below best describes how you
     view yourself?
    a. I am a child of the universe.
    b. I am a child of God.

4. Your answers to #2 and #3 are two of the “lenses” you
     use to look inward. Which of the statements below
     seems right to you?
    a. It is important which lenses I use to self-reflect.
    b. It doesn’t matter which lenses I use to self-reflect.

5. Finish this statement: “As I look inward in this book, I
    will…
    a. change what needs changing.”
    b. ignore what needs changing.”


Daily Quotation
Max Lucado, The Grip of Grace (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1996), xii.