Many folks go through times when they struggle with their value. They feel unimportant to others and to God.
Well, there are MANY verses and principles in the Bible that state that every single person (those who follow Jesus and those who don't) have incredible value (Genesis 1:26-27 tells us that every human being [flawed as we are] bear the image of God).
But, for the follower of Christ, there is even more value piled on top! In this morning's Bible reading, I came across Colossians 2:9-10 where it tells us that every bit of God the Father was in Jesus ... and that those who are saved have every bit of Jesus inside of them.
Colossians 2:9-10 (ESV)
"For in him (Jesus) the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority."
Christian, we can draw at least two helpful principles from these verses:
1) God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit fully abide in you. So, you are never, ever alone.
2) God fully abides in you because you are His temple (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19; 2 Corinthians 4:7). In your body, you carry around the God of all Creation. Because of who resides inside of you, you are of infinite worth my friend. Realize that your incredible worth comes from your intimate relationship with God, thank Him, and don't ever forget it.
Too many of us (I'm
certainly included) base our self-worth on props that often cannot handle the
weight. We base our value on what we've accomplished, where we've gone, what
educational achievement(s) or degree(s) we've attained, how many heads turn when
we walk into the room, how many "likes" our social media posts get,
the size of our house or vehicles (compared to others, of course), how many
people call to check on us when we miss a meeting or church, and so forth.
When we think about
this token list, we come to at least two realizations:
1) most of us find
our value in these sorts of superficial things and
2) all of them can
be stripped away (or considered meaningless by those we desire to impress)
almost immediately.
Is it wrong to crave
to be valued? Of course not. God made us this way. All of us want to think that
our one life matters and that it matters to more than just us.
So, is there a way
that you and I can get a sense of value that cannot be taken away? ... that
sufficiently satisfies that deep-down longing that every one of us has?
Absolutely! Just
come to see yourself as God sees you! Read, study and, by faith, internalize
the very words that God has said are true of you!
Just one such word
from God to you is found in 1Peter 1:18-19. It tells you what price God paid so
that you could be saved and brought into fellowship with Him. Talk about value!
1 Peter 1:18-19
(NLT)
"For you know
that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your
ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the
precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God."
This is just one of
the hundreds and hundreds of things that God has said are true of you if you
have been saved. Do yourself a huge favor and look for and internalize God's
truth.
One more thing: When
we see ourselves as God sees us rather than coming up with our own set of
"self-esteem props", we'll be filled with humility and gratitude to God
rather than sinful pride. That's a good thing.
Have you ever been
reading through the Bible when a verse "jumps off the page"? I mean,
it causes you to stop immediately, reflect and say, "WHOA! That's
amazing!!!"
I just happened to
me again!
As I read through
John 20, I came to the part where Mary Magdalene was at the tomb and saw Jesus.
(By the way, God goes out of His way to show the value He places upon women in
the Bible. One of the many ways He does so was by making it clear that a woman
was the first one to see the resurrected Jesus and tell others about it [John
20:11-18].)
Well, as Mary
Magdalene recognizes the resurrected Jesus for the first time at the tomb, she
apparently gave Him a big hug or fell at His feet and embraced his feet in
worship. This was a worshiper who was overwhelmed that her revered Teacher
("Rabonni!") was alive!
So, Jesus told her
to let go and then He said something else. He said that He was heading back to
Heaven soon to be with His Father and His God.
Yet, He didn't say
it quite like that. He said it in a way that made it clear that followers of
Jesus have no less access to God than Jesus does. When God looks at us, who
have submitted to the authority of Jesus over our lives, He smiles just as much
as when He looks at His Son.
I LOVE the following
phrase: "and your"!
John 20:17 (New
Living Translation)
"'Don't cling
to me,' Jesus said, 'for I haven't yet ascended to the Father. But go find my
brothers and tell them, "I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to
my God and your God." ' "
The mystery of our
incredible relationship with God (that we cannot possibly fathom in this life)
is tied up in the words "in Christ" that is found so often in
Ephesians chapters 1 and 2. Because we are saved and "in Christ," we
have more privileges and worth than we could ever possibly imagine.
Hey, are you a
follower of Jesus? If so, you've got some amazing things that are true of you!
Live up to it! Act like who you are!
When I think of self-esteem in Scripture, I’m immediately drawn back to Exodus 3-4. It’s the story of the burning bush when God called Moses to leave his flock of sheep. His new assignment was taking a trek to Egypt to call for the release of the Israelite slaves.
Throughout chapter 3, God laid out His plan and how this message would be received by the Pharaoh. God assured Moses of His presence and power. But in chapter 4, Moses expressed his sincere doubt at his part in this plan:
Verse 1: “What if they won’t believe me or listen to me? What if they say, ‘The Lord never appeared to you’?”
Verse 10: “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.”
The Lord was probably getting upset at this point. (We know that by verse 14, He was angry.) In verses 11-12, God said “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.”
But Moses again expressed his doubt at being able to do what God had called him to do. Listen to verse 13: “But Moses again pleaded, ‘Lord, please! Send anyone else.’”
Moses self-doubt wasn’t a trivial issue. God had a plan. God’s plan was to use Moses. Moses was to trust God’s ability to enable him to accomplish that plan … and Moses was saturated with self-doubt. Verse 14 says, “Then the Lord became angry with Moses…”
One thing is still clear today. God has a plan. Further, like with Moses, He desires that we participate in His divine plan. But when we, like Moses, are saturated with self-doubt, God cannot adequately use us.
One of the exciting ways that we as Christians can move toward a better self-image is by reading and appropriating the truths in the first part of the letter to the Ephesians. If you are a believer, God has declared so many things true of you because you are “in Christ.” Christians should never hang their head in self doubt or defeat. Just read the first half of Ephesians and see what God says about you. You’ll see what I’m talking about.
But someone might ask: “I thought we were supposed to be humble!” We are. But true humility isn’t doubting your worth or abilities. True humility knows that you are filled with worth because you were purchased for God with such a high price (1 Peter -19). It also means that you are capable of whatever task God calls you to (Philippians ). But true humility further realizes that apart from Christ, we’re nothing and cannot do anything. It’s HIM that gives us worth and competency.
I suspect that Christians shouldn’t strive for “self-esteem” which leads to pride. We should strive for “Christ-esteem” which leads to praise! The end result is that you become someone that knows who you are in Christ and what you can do in Christ so that God is free to use you in His divine plan. Exciting stuff!!!
If you've never received God's amazing gift of eternal life, go to http://www.wayofthemaster.com/about_kirk.shtml and click on "Listen to Kirk's Testimony." (It's only about 5 minutes long.) Feel free to contact me! I'd love to help you along in this decision.
