We must come to see ourselves as whole, not lacking or rejected, despite what our experiences with our parents, friends, and others may say.
This is Felicia Ferguson with Christian Mix 106, helping you build faith for the journey.
As we continue on our spiritual transformation to become more Christ-like, there is one aspect of our lives we might not consider: our social dimension. By this Dallas Willard in his book Renovation of the Heart means transforming our past wounds from relationships with others. To do this, we must come to see ourselves as whole, not lacking or rejected, despite what our experiences with our parents, friends, and others may say. God does have a plan for our individual lives, otherwise he wouldn’t have created us. If you’re lacking companionship, God fills the void. If you’re feeling rejected or unloved, God fills those voids. We can forgive those who have wounded us by their actions and words because we have God who loves us perfectly and we are fully accepted and wanted by him.
Once we embrace this truth, we can drop our defenses against members of our believing social circles. We can focus not on our learned expectations that they will hurt us, but trust we can be who we really are. We no longer need to hide so we can look good to those around us or keep our hearts and selves safe from injury.
When this feeling of trust and safety exists, genuine and pure love can thrive. A love that Paul described to the Romans in chapter 12. One that hates evil, clings to good, rejoices in hope, and among other qualities, is patient in trials. And from this authentic love rather than woundedness and defensiveness, we can then serve others, sharing our hope and the Gospel, which can lead unbelievers into a renewed life and hope in Jesus.
Isn’t that worth the transformation?
This is Felicia Ferguson. Thanks for listening to Christian Mix 106.
