Jesus, Help Me to Reflect YOU!

"Praise the Lord, Chosen Women!"

Proverbs 22:6 declares, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

This morning my husband was saying how much he notices that our son uses sign language. It surprised my husband that Amir would continue to use it as he is growing older. Amir's godmother and I taught his a lot of sign language when he was just an infant and could not yet use words. He does not have any hearing deficit -- I simply ascribed to the philosophy that this promotes better language and communication skills. It has proven to be true.

Now at a little over two years-old my son is said to communicate very well for his age. Often he incorporates the signing while he speaks. My husband's observation made me think about how we all demonstrate what we have been taught. Moreover, it made me think about how we do not only demonstrate the good things we have been taught, but bad things as well.

All of us will resemble those that influence either our natural or spiritual upbringing -- like it or not. I was telling my husband just yesterday on the way to church that I have had to look at myself critically in years past and see where I was reflecting the behavior of people that had influenced my upbringing. We love to hear, "You look gorgeous just like your mother!" Or, "You have that beautiful smile just like your dad!" When we regard the characteristics of others as good, we enjoy being told that we reflect them.

Yet, I am real enough to accept that when you resemble people that raise, influence or teach you, we do not only get the good. Sometimes we also pick up bad character traits. I told Gerry, " I made a decision to acknowledge the bad things that I had picked up, and submitted myself to the Lord seeking deliverance from them." I realized early on the need to be critical of myself -- and open to see the things in me that needed fixing. So many of us are able to readily identify what our sister or brother needs to fix -- but what about us?

Jesus tells us Matthew 7:3-5 to get the beam out of our own eye before we go trying to pluck the mote out of our neighbor's. To me, the key thought in this scripture is that it is ONLY once we deal with our own issue that we are able to see clearly to assist our brother or sister with theirs! So many saints are trying to help others be healed when they themselves need healing and deliverance. You sometimes cannot even rightly discern the issues of another until you deal with your own issues. Your vision can be obscured and blurred by your hurt, wounding or sin. Get the beam out of your own eye and THEN you will be able to see clearly to help your neighbor!

In Psalm 139:23 King David asked God to, "Search me," and "Know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts." I would say today, my sister or brother, ask God to show you YOU. Ask God to show you YOUR heart. You might think you are doing just fine because someone said that you preach like your father, you prophesy just like your mother -- you sing under the anointing just like your pastor, etc. But you might also cut people like they do. You might be unkind like them too. You might be mean like them too. You might lie like them too!  You might compromise just like your spiritual mother. You might backbite just like your brother. You might bear that generational curse that has come down 8 generations. You do know that it can stop with you, right?

Be willing and open for God to show you where you might be falling short -- then be willing to get delivered. In so doing, you will only strengthen your ability to be a blessing to the body of Christ!

In Service for the Master,
Evangelist Lisa Y. Mitchell