Being Defined by God

            Humanity spends countless hours attempting to define themselves.  I’ve done it.  You have too.  It’s important to us.  We need to know ourselves, understand who and what we are.  The knowledge somehow seems to anchor us. Sadly, we tend to think we are defined by our careers, our talents, our accomplishments. But those are just the things we do. Our true definition is so much more. It is found by peering into Jesus' eyes, the great looking glass of Heaven, and seeing ourselves as Jesus does. 

         Ever wonder how God sees you?  Check out the account of the woman with the blood disorder in Mark 5: 24-34.  She couldn’t have been pretty.  Disease had ravaged her body. She probably hadn’t worked for years. Who can work without strength?  Her money was gone, wasted on so many useless physicians. Her hopes were few, her desperation deep. Desperation that caused her to crawl through a crowd in search of a cure. Her physical healing came when faith caused her to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment, but the best was yet to come.

         She peered into Heaven's looking glass and got the surprise of her life. In spite of her physical appearance, lack of employment, or non-existent accomplishments, Jesus defined her. He told her how he saw her.  He let everyone know she was family. He called her, “Daughter…”

            How fantastic.  How amazing.  Who could ask for a better definition? For me, there are few words I love to hear fall off God’s tongue toward me more than the word, “Daughter”.  It is where I came from.  It is who I am.  It is my sole, most important identifier.  I am God’s daughter.  Amazingly beautiful and enormously overwhelming, it is a thought to ponder when I feel bereft, a bolstering promise when I feel less than courageous.   The constancy of my place in God’s world is my anchor when life’s storms rage out of control.  Our relationship is my past, present and future.

            Sometimes I lose touch with my true definition. I get frazzled.  I get stressed.  Sometimes the jobs I hold run together and obscure the original definition of who I am.  I get so involved being a wife, mom, housekeeper, chauffeur, and cook that I forget those things do not define me. It is then that I have to take some time and refocus on the magnificent reality of who I truly am.  That knowledge is peace, confidence, hope, and faith.   I am God’s daughter.  It is the best I could ever attain.

            If you’ve never heard God call you his child, one of the most amazing experiences of your life awaits you.  Truly, the best is yet to come.