Mistaken

Here's today's bulletin article:

Every one of us spends a great deal of time and energy worrying about identity. For many of us one of the more frequent questions we ask ourselves is, “How will it look if…?” Or perhaps the question is, “What will he or she or they think about me if…?” We worry about the clothes we wear, the kind of vehicle we drive, the place we live, what we read, what we watch, and how each of these affects our identity and others’ perceptions of us.

None of these are bad questions in and of themselves. In fact, many of them can be quite helpful in guiding our reflection on the image we project to others. Moreover, the questions flow out of a healthy recognition that the universe does not orbit around us. It is possible, however, that questions originating in an awareness we are not the center of the universe can give way to constant worry about appearances that becomes very self-centered.

While there are times it is appropriate to ask questions about how others perceive us, I wonder if a better question wouldn’t be “Do people see Jesus when they see me?” This transforms our self-centered questions into Jesus-centered questions.

One of my favorite singer-songwriters, Warren Barfield, expresses this sentiment in a positive manner in his song, "Mistaken":

“‘Til everyone I talk to hears his voice, and everything I touch feels the warmth of His hand. ‘Til everyone I meet sees Jesus in me. This is all I want to be. I want to be mistaken for Jesus.

“May He touch with my hands, see through my eyes. May he speak through my lips, live through my life.

“I want to be mistaken for Jesus.”

I hope and pray that whatever we do, wherever we go, with whomever we interact, we’ll be mistaken for Jesus.

Here's a video from YouTube of Warren singing the entire song.