Endless quotes on Pinterest tell us to, “Be true to yourself” but what does that mean? Remember back in the day when you sent away a roll of film to be developed and you received your printed photographs a few days later? Did you feel at the time that some of the photos didn’t quite capture all those wonderful moments you had hoped for? 

And as you studied your photographs of the ocean view, framed by palm trees and glorious sunshine that you captured from your hotel balcony, at the time, as you recall, it was a magnificent representation of your holiday. However, the photos have returned with something missing. Each image seems so plain, so ordinary, so average. 

And in that moment of reflection, as we look through our printed memories, we have forgotten that those experiences can never be duplicated. They can never be replicated or repeated because those moments are of an experience that has been captured on paper. In the same way, we desperately try to find our true selves in images that we believe have captured our true identity, only to discover that something is missing.      

In their book, Created for Community, Stanley Grenz and Jay Smith remind us that “when we find God – or perhaps better stated, when God finds us – we also find our true self…God desires that we live in fellowship with Him, with each other, and with all creation, and thereby live according to our own true identity” We know this, we want this, and yet we hide our true selves away like the experiences of bygone holiday snaps we have left behind in dusty old albums in the attic. 

  In Genesis 1:27 we are reminded that we are created in God’s image. He made man in His image, so we reflected Him. However, Adam and Eve were deceived and ate the fruit that the serpent enticed them with, causing a chasm, a broken relationship with God. Man, who bears His image, now looks in a fragmented mirror that distorts his reflection. And as we look into the mirror, we try to recapture those true self moments when man felt close to God and walked with Him in the garden when we enjoyed His connection when we longed for His communion, but after the fall these are things that elude us. 

Being true to yourself requires remembrance, an experience that points us back to our true identity, our true selves. Still, if we’re honest, we are scared. Scared that if we came out from our hiding place, allowing God to find us, and in turn, find our true selves, He’ll want a commitment from us that has no room for our broken, no clearance for our wounding, and no chance of fixing our failures. And like our holiday photos we believe God demands images of a perfect life because let’s face it, no one frames photographs of moments that are painful, that show our suffering, that recaptures great loss. 

And yet Jesus did. He framed every moment of His pain so that we could find our true selves. If you spend time with Him, He’ll bring out His photo albums that reveal images of what He did for you and me that helps us discover how much we are deeply loved by Him regardless of what we’ve done. Taking communion is where we can all find that experience. It is developed in the cup of suffering that Jesus gave thanks for. It is captured with Jesus’ broken body in the breaking of the bread. The Last Supper is where we “find God – or perhaps better stated when God finds us” so you can be true to yourself. 

‘Now as they were eating Jesus took bread, and after blessing it, He broke it and gave it to His disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the [new and better] covenant, which [ratifies the agreement and] is being poured out for many [as a substitutionary atonement] for the forgiveness of sins.” Matthew 26:26-28 [AMP]

I’ll leave you with the words of Ragan Courtney, “In Remembrance” (1972)

Take, eat, and be comforted.

Drink, and remember too, that this is my body and

Precious blood, shed for you, shed for you.

In remembrance of me, search for truth.

In remembrance of me, always love.

Do this in remembrance of me…

Find Him and be true to yourself. 

Wendy xxx 

Have you thought about taking communion each day to find your true self? 

I pray today that you will allow God to find you. I pray you will be true to yourself and experience Jesus who points you back to your true identity in Him. Bring Him your broken and wounding heart in communion with Him and recapture something that you have forgotten.