Seeing Ourselves as God Sees Us

Humility evades many of us, and this manifests itself in various ways. How many times do we assume that we can do more than we are able? We stretch ourselves too thin or assume that we know what we’re doing? Or perhaps we stumble on negative self-talk, denying the extent of the gifts God has given us and never quite reaching our full potential? Each of these is a pitfall of lacking humility. The first reading warns us “What is too sublime for you, seek not, into things beyond your strength search not.” Yet, time and time again we fall into the illusion of control where we believe we are in charge of our gifts and forget who gave them to us. The parable from the gospel demonstrates how easily we can assume we are better than others and end up embarrassed. Jesus himself is emphasizing the value of accurately representing our gifts, and through turning to him we can direct our distorted images of our abilities.

Jesus alone knows our full potential, since he created us in the first place! Therefore, to better know ourselves, we can get to know Christ better. Knowing Christ is a give and take relationship, but do we know how to take? We surely ASK to take from God, we ask for peace, love, etc. Yet, do we take it when he gives it freely to us? We must realize that God never withholds any good from us – giving up His only Son out of love for us is the ultimate gift. When we recognize that this is the greatest possible gift and accept his invitation to love, we can see ourselves in a humble light. After all, true humility is seeing clearly that God is the giver of our gifts. As St. Thomas Aquinas said, “Humility means seeing ourselves as God sees us; knowing every good we have comes from Him as pure gift.” What is holding you back from accepting the gifts that God is giving you? Accept his invitation above the invitations of the pleasures or temptations of this world.

In the parable from the gospel, some of the guests let their invitation go to their heads. They do not know how to act correctly with the invitation once they have received it. Similarly, how often do we respond poorly to Jesus’ love for us? We fail to love ourselves through doubting our own abilities; we seek love in broken relationships rather than embrace Christ’s unconditional love. Lord, help us to accept the invitation to love you with all our hearts, all our strength, and all our mind. Holy Spirit, be our vision so that we may see ourselves as you do.