It makes all the difference in the world whether I view my neighbour as a potential convert or as someone whom God already loves.

Philip Yancey, Vanishing Grace.

When we approach people with a desire to see how they display the character and glory of God, it removes the assumption that our only job is to convert them and bring them to church.

I found myself using this language once when meeting with a young woman who was struggling with habitual sin. My desire was for her to discover the ways in which God is expressing his own character through her life.

This was much more helpful than pointing out the things she was doing wrong. She knew that what she was doing was wrong, evidenced by the fact that she wanted to talk about it. Even if she didn’t, the process of repentance begins with seeing how our behaviour is a reflection of our understanding of who God is and who we are.

What she needed was a reminder that God wants to put himself on display through her life. She needed to discover what it is about herself that gives God pleasure and at the same time gives her pleasure. In short, self-discovery and God-discovery are the same thing.

The world will try and tell us that we can discover ourselves by looking inward. But, true self-discovery will only happen by standing before our Creator, asking him to reveal the truth about who he is and how his character is most beautifully portrayed in our lives. God will answer. Through Scripture, prayer, and through the words of other people who are asking God the same questions about themselves.

It is amazing how God works when I truly seek to live each day in search of how he wants to put himself on display in my life.