12 September 2004

Who am I?

I am being faced with myself, which is one of the hardest things to face for me, and I'm sure for a lot of us. I am a sinner, I am a plethora of paradoxes, I know who I am, but don't know who I want to be. I can't figure out sometimes if I'm showing the real me to others, or if I am just putting up a face for them to see. On the surface, the paradoxes are even many. For example:
Some days I want to live in the big, big city and some days I want to live in (Texas, Montana, Wyoming) and own a ranch and horses and be able to ride every day into the wild blue. I love to be outdoors and hike but I'd like just as well to go and get a massage or a manicure and dress up for a fancy dinner. I love to go see the theater (as in Broadway shows) but I'd just as soon stay home and have a nice home-cooked meal. There are many, many more, but you get the point.
I'm not sure why these things bother me, except that I know very few people who are the same way. Maybe I'm not opening my eyes wide enough.
Being faced with my own outside is not nearly as scary as being faced with my own inside, which I suppose is why I focus on the outside for now. The thoughts that cross my mind, the words that come out of my mouth, I have to wonder where they come from. So many of them don't come from someone who is radically loved by God. But that is what I am. So why is my human nature still winning so many days? Sometimes I conclude that it must be something that I am doing wrong, and that I am not trying hard enough to be "good" or that I am not pursuing God closely enough. Those are tricks of the devil, for God has shown me none of those. There is a simple truth: there is no one righteous, and I am included. The greater simple truth is this: Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners, of which I am one. Praise the Lord!

1 comment:

Allison said...

Hey Jen,

Looks like your comments got spammed. Ew.

Just wanted to say a quick "hey!" and "are you reading my mind again?" I've been thinking the same things lately. I'm walking contradictions.

But maybe that's what we all are as Christians-- we've been proclaimed righteous but we're not-yet, we're children of God but don't always act like it, we're the family of God, God's chosen people, but we don't act like that, either, as a Church. So we're all on the road to sanctification together, and me keeping my tongue in check is a small step in that. Like I heard recently-- "you know the promises of Christ, now act like it!" :)

Thanks for the MC memories and I love the "plethora of paradoxes" line.

I promise to write. Soon. Miss you much!