Have you ever heard anyone say, "I just need to find myself"? All this person has to do is give her arm a good pinch to find out that she's not lost to herself after all. Ironically, when someone makes a statement like this, self-absorption is the problem. The truth is, none of us are lost to ourselves. Self is persistent. She is like a jack-in-the-box. You have to stuff her down and hold her in, in order to shut the lid. The difference is, you don't have to crank a handle to make her reappear; She does that on her own. The renowned Apostle Paul described this ongoing battle with the tenacious self in Galatians 5:17 "For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other..." Notice the present tense of the verbs in this verse. Self continually tries to rear her ugly head.
When someone says, "I need to find myself," they are verbalizing an awareness of legitimate loss. The error comes in believing that a greater focus on self is what is needed to rectify the situation. Satan tries to convince us that getting in touch with self is the solution to the feeling of unconnectedness. Jesus reveals to us the real cure in His prayer to the Father, shortly before His crucifixion. He prays for His disciples and even includes you and me! Listen to His words. "My prayer is not for them alone, I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You. May they also be in us..." John 17:20-21. It's not ourselves we need to find, to experience fulfillment, it's God. Paul expounded on this truth in Acts 17:24-25 & 27 "The God who made the world and all things in it...gives to all people life and breath and all things, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us." God desires relationship with us so much, that even though we humans were the ones who broke away from Him, and caused our lost state, He stays near us, hoping we will reach out to Him. Apparently our level of seeking Him wasn't satisfactory. He even went so far as to become one of us and declared this purpose in doing so: "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." Luke 19:10.
Finding ourselves will not bring us satisfaction, but losing ourselves will. Jesus is the prime example. "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus; Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant..." Philippians 2:5-7. Verse nine reveals the result of Jesus' self-abasement. "Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name."
My friend, don't go on a wasted journey. The quest to find yourself, is as futile as setting out to find the gold at the end of the rainbow. Instead, fix your eyes on Jesus to find purpose and meaning in life. Then celebrate the fact that "...you are complete through your union with Christ..." (Colossians 2:10) ...no more searching! Only through identification with Him, will you ultimately become your best self!
When someone says, "I need to find myself," they are verbalizing an awareness of legitimate loss. The error comes in believing that a greater focus on self is what is needed to rectify the situation. Satan tries to convince us that getting in touch with self is the solution to the feeling of unconnectedness. Jesus reveals to us the real cure in His prayer to the Father, shortly before His crucifixion. He prays for His disciples and even includes you and me! Listen to His words. "My prayer is not for them alone, I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You. May they also be in us..." John 17:20-21. It's not ourselves we need to find, to experience fulfillment, it's God. Paul expounded on this truth in Acts 17:24-25 & 27 "The God who made the world and all things in it...gives to all people life and breath and all things, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us." God desires relationship with us so much, that even though we humans were the ones who broke away from Him, and caused our lost state, He stays near us, hoping we will reach out to Him. Apparently our level of seeking Him wasn't satisfactory. He even went so far as to become one of us and declared this purpose in doing so: "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." Luke 19:10.
Finding ourselves will not bring us satisfaction, but losing ourselves will. Jesus is the prime example. "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus; Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant..." Philippians 2:5-7. Verse nine reveals the result of Jesus' self-abasement. "Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name."
My friend, don't go on a wasted journey. The quest to find yourself, is as futile as setting out to find the gold at the end of the rainbow. Instead, fix your eyes on Jesus to find purpose and meaning in life. Then celebrate the fact that "...you are complete through your union with Christ..." (Colossians 2:10) ...no more searching! Only through identification with Him, will you ultimately become your best self!
