I picked up a used jigsaw puzzle. It looks like new. The picture on the box is attractive and I thought I'd like to spend some time relaxing and putting this puzzle together.
When I opened it, I was actually shocked to see that the pieces in the box in no way matched the picture. "This can't be," I thought. Did someone do this deliberately? Or did they put the puzzle pieces in the box and mistakenly put the wrong cover on it? This puzzle is not what it seems to be. I was disappointed.
When I read Proverbs this morning, verse 13 of chapter 14 jumped out at me: "Even in laughter the heart may be sad..." I thought about people who seem to be so very happy and accomplished, who seem to have everything going for them, but they may have an inner sadness that they do not show.
People tend to think - I tend to think, "If people really knew me, would they accept me as I am?"
I thought again about the puzzle and whether there might be a lesson here. When do I pretend to be someone I am not? Am I authentic? By my actions and demeanor, do I show people who I really am? Or do I try to project a false image of myself, of what I would want people to think of me?
It is a liberating, healing experience when we are loved and accepted exactly as we are. It's like the puzzle pieces of our life that we feel don't belong, come together and are truly appreciated and valued.
I pray for the trust to be vulnerable and to let my guard down, to be an authentic me. And may I be trustworthy to allow others to do the same. No pretenses. No false images. Just to live and walk in truth in the image of our Creator God. (Genesis 1:27)
I know just what you mean! I frequently ponder these questions about who I am and who people think I am. Questions are often sparked by people who know me in only one situation and then encounter me in another. Their response is often shock! It reminds me of children who see their teacher in the grocery store and are amazed that they have a life outside the classroom! So, if I act differently in different situations, then which one is the real me? My answer, thanks to Saint Paul, is (hopefully) all of them!
ReplyDelete1 Corinthians 9:19-22 “Although I am free in regard to all, I have made myself a slave to all so as to win over as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew to win over Jews; to those under the law I became like one under the law—though I myself am not under the law—to win over those under the law. To those outside the law I became like one outside the law—though I am not outside God’s law but within the law of Christ—to win over those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, to win over the weak. I have become all things to all, to save at least some.”
This makes sense to me as society demands that we behave differently in different places. We should not act like we are at a football game when we are in a library; like we are in the backyard with our family when we are in church; or like we are at a party when we are in school! We teach our children these things from a young age: “Inside voices, please!” “No running in the halls!” and “Be gentle with the baby!”
I think this is especially important when we are evangelizing. As Saint Paul points out, we must meet people where they are to be able to speak to them in ways they understand and to convince them to listen to us. The tricky part is to be true to the teachings of Christ as you enter into all the different situations you encounter. We must be all things to all people without being sinful ourselves. When you think of it that way, then you realize that “yes” when you evangelize, you enter their world, but model the life you are teaching!
Absolutely, the picture on our box that one person sees may not be the picture that another person sees, but what matters is that when the pieces inside are assembled the picture that God sees is pleasing to Him
Well said!
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