There’s a painter working in Laguna Beach named Andrew Meyers and he’s approaching his art in a totally fresh way. Instead of layering oil paints to produce texture and depth like Van Gogh, Andrew “paints” with thousands of screws. He drills each one into a wood canvas at different levels to create a portrait that’s three-dimensional. Unlike the paintings you’ll find hanging in a museum, Andrew’s work is actually meant to be touched. In fact, he encourages it! I found out about all this when I watched a video of a blind man reaching out and touching his own portrait that Andrew had made. The expression that was on that blind man’s face when he saw it was one in a million. It was like he could see himself for the first time.

Many of us move through this life thinking that we know who we are. We think we have a clear view of ourselves. We’re fathers or mothers. We’re accountants and steel workers. We vote this way or that way. We cheer for the home team on the weekends. But all of these things aren’t really who we are. At our most core level of being, we know from Scripture that we are God’s beloved. We are his son or his daughter. We are adopted and justified before him through our Lord Jesus Christ. We are his children, and our identity is in Christ Jesus.

I think if I could have had a video made of my face the first time I found that out, I probably would have looked like that blind man reaching out and touching the painting and “seeing” for the first time. Once we know our identity is rooted in Christ alone, there’s no going back. Our eyes have been opened and we’ve finally seen ourselves for the first time.

Paul seems to have thought along these lines expressed here in this passage from his letter to the Ephesians: “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people” (Ephesians 1:18 NIV).

I pray that as you’re continuing through this life that we’ll be able to show others the joy of seeing themselves for the first time in Christ Jesus.

I’m Joseph Tkach, Speaking of LIFE.