"Search me, O God, and know my heart:
try me, and know my thoughts:
And see if there be any wicked way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting."
- Psalms 139:23-24

I am still finding it hard to believe.

Standing at the counter of our bank, my wife and I were cashing a check when the clerk asked to see my driver's license.  She merely wanted to verify that the person cashing the check was, in fact, the person listed on the check.

I handed over my driver's license and proceeded to wait while the request was processed.  The clerk handed me the driver's license back while she continued to finalize the request.  As I placed it back into my wallet, I paused as I looked at the picture of myself on the license.  I think I must have rubbed my eyes as I gave it a closer inspection...

...Nope.  No way.  That isn't me.

Some impostor's photograph was on my driver's license!  My name and data were  listed, but this wasn't a picture of me.  This guy, this guy was overweight.  And he was losing his hair.  And their were a few gray whiskers in his mustache...

...this couldn't be me!

Unfortunately, upon further inspection, it proved to be exactly me.  Do I look like that?  As they say, pictures don't lie.

You see, I look at myself in the mirror every single day.  And I just didn't notice the little changes each day.  You can't see 500 extra calories from dinner's meal.  It's hardly noticeable that you lose a couple of hairs here and there.  It's difficult to see a stray gray hair in my mustache.  

Truly, it is hard to recognize those small details until one day you look at yourself in a photograph and they've all added up to a very big change in your appearance.

That's what happened to me.

So, I've started a diet, joined the Hair Club for Men and picked up a box of dark brown dye for my mustache. ;-)  And I've vowed to take a closer look at my self on a regular basis.

You know, it's important sometimes to not only take a closer look at ourselves physically, but spiritually as well.  That's right, we need a personal examination to see if there are any flaws in the picture of our walk with Jesus Christ...

...because, after all, those small imperfections add up to a very big change in our appearance before the Lord and the world.

So, this morning, it's a good time to whip out the spiritual driver's license and take a closer look at the snapshot of our lives that so prominently adorns it...

...Are we spending enough time in the Word of God each day?  How's our prayer life?  Are we witnessing and sharing our faith? Are there any flaws present like a lack of faith, bad attitude or judgmental spirit?  Do we have a genuine love today, for our Lord and our neighbor?

What do you see, Christian?  A "picture perfect" relationship with God?  Or, is it time to start reaching for the hair dye?

What do other people see in your life?