Living a Life of Acknowledgment

It was Socrates who said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” It is self-examination that keeps me in tune to the voice of the Holy Spirit, listening attentively for His still small voice to give me direction. I recognize that to achieve the change I so deeply long for, I must wrestle through my surface-level comfort to delve deeper.

In 2 Corinthians 13:5, Paul says, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you - unless, of course, you fail the test?” He calls us to a life of consistent examination, right down to the core of our faith. This is Paul. A former murderer. A religious zealot. A previous persecutor of those with different religious beliefs. Paul challenged the Corinthians (and us) to examine themselves. Paul could be so bold because of his own acknowledgment of who he once was and who he is.

It is easy as in our society today to fall into the “normal” categories - parent, spouse, professional, cook, host. We see all the perfect images on Instagram, perfectly filtered and cropped, with the all-too-perfect messy bun, and we simply can’t seem to catch up to the elusive ideal. When I went through my identity crisis, I found myself overwhelmed because I did not know who I was apart from the role of professional, mom, and wife. I had left my job, which carried more of my security than I cared to admit, and I was left floundering in a sea of imperfections.

I was asking the wrong question. The question was not about WHAT God had created me for. It wasn’t about the immediate circumstances I found myself caught in. The question I needed to be asking was: WHO did God create me to be? Who was I apart from other people? An articulate teacher? An artful chef? A prolific writer? An insightful photographer? The truth is that, apart from other people, God created me to be in HIS image. This clarity didn’t mean the road to the acknowledgment of who I was would be easy. It meant work.

Over the six-plus years following this existential crisis, I did a lot of seeking. Next week I will share more about how God brought me from a place of no identity to an identity full in Him.

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Lisa Garon

Living more like Jesus in our vocations, churches, and communities.

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Immersion

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Choice Two