The REAL Self-Realization

"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you..." Matthew 4:19

The psychology field has a lot to say about self-realization.  It's our ultimate need, says Maslow, the thing after which we strive.

So do many Christians.  It’s a selfish pursuit, say some.  Just one more piece of evidence that collectively and individually, we’re slipping into a state of absolute consumption with self.

While self-realization is an obvious result of a blatantly individualistic culture, I don’t think self-realization and faith are diametrically opposed.  As with many ambitions, the way self-realization is understood and pursued as god in our society is skewed.  The intense focus on finding what makes you happy and discovering who you want to be can be sickening, but the hope of self discovery is not a devilish concept in and of itself. 

I contend that today’s pursuit to realize one’s individual identity, strengths and potential is primarily a distortion of the sanctification process.  We all agree and sense that we are not yet what we were created to be, and so we long to find that person, our true self, that God designed in His own image.  Without a clear understanding of the Gospel, this process is like a pre-teen without a license taking the wheel.  We aren’t supposed to be in the driver’s seat and we don’t really know where we are going or why.  We just want to move, progress, transform, grow, but we don't know where, how, or why.

Without the salvation story, we miss out on the crux of our story, i.e. we are being developed by a Sovereign God into men and women who reflect His character, creativity and beauty.  This is intended to give God His deserved admiration and devotion, not primarily to make us happy.

Although many have ignored the operator and the forgotten goal of these self-realization efforts, it is a valuable process.  In the gospels, we see Jesus reeling in His first disciples by promising to make them into something that they would be but were not yet.

Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men.

John Calvin said “without knowledge of self, there is no knowledge of God.”  His proposition is somewhat audacious.  Shouldn’t God be so set apart from us that knowing ourselves would lead us away from His perfection?  By this statement, are we claiming to be like God?  No, experience proves it true: Knowing ourselves, the created, leads us to knowledge of the Creator.  Indeed, a severe reckoning with our self helps us glean something of God’s character.  The sin within repulses us because somehow we have an idea of what perfection is and how we fall short.  We are thus drawn to that perfection.  The semblances of purity we find in our self then reflects God in us and reminds us of Him. 

Scripture shows us that pursuing knowledge of self and knowledge of God are two intertwined adventures meant to be embarked upon within the same journey.  Jesus promises to “make” the disciples should they “come, follow.”  Following leads to knowing and with every step, we know more of ourselves and more of the King we serve.  Jesus is in the business of making, and there is much joy in participating in that process with Him as discover our true selves.