Things I learned...

I have to confess... the last year has not been my favorite.  I have felt, at times, that life's been terribly overwhelming and at other times that there's just a dense fog hanging over my emotions.  Ironically, at the end of 2010 I set a goal for myself to forgive those who hurt me, even those who never apologize.  Yes, those were my written words and I never would have dreamed how much opportunity 2011 would give me to practice that goal!  Now I'd never go into all that happened or the many words that were spoken that crushed me, caused me to doubt myself and temporarily crippled me sending me into that dense fog but I've learned some really key things in the midst of the fog... things I wouldn't trade for more sunny days.  The following is a highlight of the first of those things that I learned...


Who I am is defined in Christ ALONE and not what others think of me... even me.

Don't get me wrong, I really do care what others think of me and have difficulty believing those people who give the notion that they are not the least bit effected by what people think of them.  In our core, there are some people whose opinions matter.  They just do.  Yet, those people are just that, people... flawed, selfish, sinful human people... just like me and sometimes their opinions need to not matter because if their opinion is in sharp contrast to what Christ says of me then I cannot listen more to them than I do Him.  I know this in my head but sometimes, I have difficulty separating it in my heart but I'm getting better.


Have you ever struggled with what someone else thinks of you?  Has anyone ever said something about you that made you doubt everything you thought about yourself?  Maybe it was a parent, a boss, or a friend... it can even be someone you don't like and it will still slice right through you, doesn't it?  Worst of all, sometimes it just us.   What we think of ourselves can be most discouraging of all. 


What carried me through 2011 and what I encourage you to do is to remember what Christ thinks of us... It is what He thinks that really matters because He knows us better than we know ourselves and

He thinks we're to die for!  

He says that we are His friend... that we are free... that we are His delight and the apple of His eye.  Here are just a few more examples of what the bible says about you and me:

I am a child of God- John 1:12
I am Christ's friend- John 15:15
I am chosen and appointed by Christ to bear His fruit- John 15:16
I am a personal witness of Christ for Christ- Acts 1:8
I have been justified and redeemed- Romans 3:24
Romans 5:1 I- have been justified (completely forgiven and made righteous) and am at peace with God- Romans 5:11
I have been freed from sin's power over me- Romans 6:7
I am holy- Romans 11:16
I am a new creation- 2 Corinthians 5:17
Christ has accepted me- Romans 15:7

This is not an all-inclusive list.  These are just a few of the descriptions that Christ gives to those who love Him but how much sweeter is it to hear these things about us than some of the other things we hear.  Today I am going to spend a little time thinking about what Jesus thinks of me and I encourage you to take a few minutes to think about it for yourself.