Martha Olawale

“For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), yet for us, there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.” 1 Corinthians 8:5-6

Looking in the mirror, I saw the woman staring back at me, but the longer I looked, the less sense I made. It prompted me to ask, “Who or what are you?” Yes, I could see the beautiful black woman staring back, but those are just definitions given to me by a world that can’t answer the stirring in my soul. I’ve lived with this woman all my life, been everywhere she’s been, and felt every joy and pain she has known, but until I allow my heart to think of God and my soul to wander in His love, nothing about me makes sense. I am created in the image of God, the Father who, although I’ve not seen, gives meaning to my being beyond what I could see in a man-made mirror.

Many things we can see, touch, taste, and feel don’t make sense: the world, the galaxies, the unexplained and explained phenomena, and the simple intricacy of the human heart baffles us. Without God in the mix of any formula we stir together, it always turns out wrong and flat, leaving us with more questions than we started with. If you look long enough at yourself in the mirror, you’ll reach a point of dilemma because beyond the features staring back at you is a soul that longs for something more than the world can give you: God can. To truly understand the intricacies of knowing who you are, you must first know and walk with Jesus.

The more I think of myself without God, the less sense things make. Such an attempt thrusts my mind into an endless chasm of darkness because it leaves me existing and not living, with more questions than answers and without purpose. However, the more I look at Jesus, the clearer things become and the more meaningful life is. My soul finds rest, and my heart wells up with an unspeakable joy, full of glory I can almost touch when I think of myself in the context of God.

Paul’s conclusion in 1 Corinthians 8:5 is that there is one God, the Father, from whom all things flow. That knowledge comes from a privileged depth that only those who accept Jesus can access. The place of rest for my restless soul is knowing that ‘I am’ Martha, a wife, a mother, a woman, a living being created by and for the pleasure of the' I AM’ God Almighty.