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+Who am I? The search for self often results in little more than a
+few clues that define us only in part. It's as if we are looking
+in a series of mirrors, some better than others, that reflect
+back glimpses of self but not the whole picture. The whole
+picture requires relationship with the master designer Himself.
+
+In His great love for us, Jesus lays claim to who we truly
+are. He alone knows who the true self is; He alone can call forth
+that self. As we respond to His loving initiative in our lives,
+the most profound and authentic parts of our personhood come
+forth. The light of powerful love awakens us, and calls us out of
+the shadows of lesser selves. Through His reflection, we become
+aware of who we truly are.
+
+Jesus alone possesses the knowledge of that true self; we
+see ourselves only in part. He sees us in full. Often our
+“self-portrait” is composed of damaging brush strokes applied by
+others or by our own distorted efforts to create a self. But in
+truth only the Creator of the original work can define it. One
+with the Father in the creation of each person, Jesus intends on
+reclaiming the true image He created in us (Jn 1:3). He alone
+envisioned that image; He alone can lovingly call that image
+forth from out of the dark layers that have shrouded it.
+
+Suppose a painter created a beautiful painting, one that
+bore his distinctive design and style. His pride in the work
+was matched only by his distress when vandals stole the
+painting and mistreated it until the original design was barely
+recognisable. Their fingerprints smudged it; layers of dust
+and grime obscured the true form and colours intended by the
+painter. He searched everywhere, going from gallery to loft to
+attic until he found his work. Then gently, but with unerring
+accuracy and skill, he restored the work, removing the layers of
+damage and enabling his true design to emerge.
+
+Jesus is that master painter. And He persists in love to
+reclaim the true self in each of us. Jesus’ interaction with
+the Samaritan woman in John 4 illustrates well His pursuit of
+that self. That woman had lived her life apart from God. As a
+Samaritan she was considered an outcast, and as an “unclean”
+woman (married 5 times and now living with a man), she had
+little to commend herself to Jesus. But He saw beyond her
+disqualifications. He beheld in her one who was created for
+unfailing love.
+
+What did Jesus see? Deeper than her original sin, Jesus beheld
+her as one destined for real relationship with God and with her
+fellow humanity. At core, Jesus knew that she was a bearer of His
+image and likeness. According to Genesis 1:26 and 27, God creates
+humanity as male and female in His image. Humanity alone bears
+that image, which means that we alone are called to represent
+and somehow reveal God on the earth. We are like little mirrors,
+intended to reflect to all the glory of the One who created us.
+
+We can say that bearing the image of God is the most profound and
+authentic part of our humanity. And that image shines forth as we
+welcome Jesus into our lives. It is the true self that says “yes”
+to Jesus. And it is only through responding to Jesus and His
+loving initiative in our lives that we discover who and what that
+self truly is. As C.S. Lewis said: “Your real, new self (which is
+Christ’s and also yours, and yours just because it is His) will
+not come as long as you are looking for it. It will come when you
+are looking for Him." (Mere Christianity, Touchstone Publishing,
+P. 191)
+
+As we seek to know Him better, more and more of the true
+self is reclaimed. Eternal, unfailing love reclaims our
+hearts. Established in God, we begin to grasp the higher and
+truer purposes of our humanity.