Today, be the person God thinks you are.

The other day I was on my commute to church from my parent's house north of Detroit to Ann Arbor. I was on westbound 696 right by the Detroit Zoo water tower that is painted to look like an African Savannah at sunset. I was attempting to change lanes to avoid the semi in my lane when a horn blared on the driver's side of my car. I was startled because the car that was two lanes over was now right next to me. We had both attempted to merge into the same lane, at the same time. As our eyes met I will never forget the name that he shot me though his car window. I didn't need sound, I heard him. And the letters the put together created an identity for me in his mind. For the rest of that day he would have thought of me, and thought of that name.

Now that traffic encounter did not end up to be serious and it was probably my fault, but as I walked though my day I could not shake the name he called me. I moved slowly through my tasks, every so often thinking back to that name. I spent my whole day thinking of myself the way that other driver did.

We all know what that's like. We have all been called names or been the one who calls the names. Fat, Lazy, Stupid, worthless, and worse than these.

All of them create an identity for us that is someone's perspective. Yet, it hurts. Sometimes we even begin to behave like those identities are true. It's like the class clown that everyone thinks is funny so he tries harder and harder until it's not funny anymore, and that just makes him try even harder because he believe that he is the class clown and he is "supposed" to be funny.

With all the perceptions within ourselves and outside of ourselves it can be hard to get a clear vision of who we really are. It can be even harder to think that God might have something to say about who you are.

That's right, God has an opinion on the matter.

Check this out:

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. In him we were also chosen,having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory."

Those were the opening lines of Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus. forgiven, adopted, blessed, included, loved, sealed with the Holy Spirit, lavished with grace. And Paul is just getting warmed up. He goes on to say we are the fullness of him who fills everything in every way, raised to life in Christ, the "artwork" of God.

What would happen if we started to replace what the "other drivers" in our lives say and think of us with what God thinks of us?

May you know what God thinks of you today and live your life accordingly. May you know that you are God's Artwork.