Galatians 2: 20 NKJV
There was a time not so long ago where my own image of myself relied on how those around me felt about me. I did well when I was among people who knew and liked me. However, get me out of that element and something changed. When I was around people who looked upon me negatively, their thoughts carried over to how I saw myself. Needless to say, I spent a lot of time on the merry go round of emotions worrying about why I was such a failure. Even when I took refuge in my faith, I was told that I was a sinner competing for Gods favor. Of course, this didn't sit well with my own self confidence either. The fact is, it does not take long for ones own self worth to hit bottom when those around them are telling them they are not good enough. Knowing what I know now, I realize that back then I was a victim of the lies of the accuser. It has never been God who seeks to instill us with a negative spirit. It has never been God who whispers that we are no good to Him. Indeed, we have all been created in the image of the Father {Genesis 1:27}. I take that to mean that we are all which the Father is. This becomes more apparent when we look at the words of the apostle Paul in Galatians. It is Paul who introduces us to the reality of who we truly are. Was Paul's own identity tied to his persecutions of the church? If we were to speak to him, Paul would consider his old identity to have been that of one of the worst of sinners {1 Timothy 1:15}. Yet, how could a man who did such violence to the followers of Jesus today be considered one of the greatest speakers of the gospel of the truth of Christ? We find the answer in the very same verse in which Paul refers to himself as one of the worst of sinners. That "Jesus came into the world to save sinners." If not for Jesus, Paul may well have continued on his destructive path. If not for Jesus, I might still be believing in all the negative things those around me tell me. Paul realized the truth that it was no longer his old nature of persecution that defined him, but Christ Himself {Galatians 2:20}.
To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Colossians 1: 27 NKJV
It took me a bit longer, but once a good friend mentioned to me the words of Paul, I began to see myself in a different way. I began to see that it wasn't my old behaviors which defined the man I was. What defined me as a man is Christ Jesus who lives through me. Each day I hear of stories of one person or another who, in the darkness of their own despair, fall into that belief that they are but lowly sinners whom God must always keep an eye upon. That we must continually work and strive to achieve a level of goodness which God will accept. Well, it is not what we do which makes us acceptable to God, but who we are. If we go simply on our own efforts, we will always fall short of coming close to a level of righteousness that is acceptable to God. Remember, in Paul's own persecutions of the early church, he thought that he was doing the Lords work. He worked under the authority of the religious leaders of his day. Did Paul's efforts bring him closer to God? Well, in a way, yes. However, I will say that it was because of Paul's efforts to gain favor with the God he knew which brought him into his own encounter with Jesus on that Damascus road. It is because of how God sees us that we need not rely on our own efforts to attain His favor. When God looks upon me, He no longer sees the man I once was. That man was crucified along with Jesus on the cross. What the Father sees now when He looks upon us is the very same man we should be seeing in the mirror...Jesus. It is Jesus who gave Himself on our account {2 Corinthians 5:21}. Who I am has never been defined by those around me, but by Christ who is in me.
~Scott~
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