Develop Your Faith Image
John 1:12-13 But to all who received Jesus, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
If asked you, in twenty-five words or less, to write down who you are, what would you write? No, not some bland, generalised statement. I want a sentence that captures your essence, your value, the important things about you. So what would you write? What evidence, what feelings, what feedback would you draw on to write it?
Itās hard, because we donāt think too much about who we are. And yet, who you believe you are, what you believe about yourself, shapes your thoughts, your opinions, your feelings and your reactions.
And mostly, we rely on what other people tell us. Perhaps you were told once by a teacher or a parent: āyou worthless child, youāll never amount to anything.ā And that, like it or not, has had a huge impact on your self-image.
Or perhaps you were always the last kid to be chosen on a team, as I was. And even though you donāt think about it all that much anymore, it still has a huge influence on how you see yourself.
Self-image is a dangerous thing. The lies of this world are ruining many a life, even, let me say, the lives of people who with all their hearts, believe in Jesus. So, whatās the alternative?
One of my professors back in Bible college days, used to talk about replacing your self-image with a faith image. In other words, deciding to believe what God says about you, rather than what the world says about you. For instance, try this on for size:
But to all who received Jesus, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.Ā (John 1:12-13)
Children used to taunt me at school, because I was chubby and short, because I was gifted in the classroom and not on the sporting field, and it hurt. A lot. So then Iād come home and talk to my dad about it. Heād help get my perspective right. Heād get me believing the right things about myself. I got a lot of comfort from my dad just being my dad. And I am absolutely certain that itās because of him, that those things from my childhood donāt affect me these days.
But not just him, also my Father in heaven. As I read my Bible day after day, my heavenly Dad speaks those words about who I am into my heart. And for me, itās been a simple decision to believe what Dad says about me, rather than what the world says about me. Thatās my faith image.
Do you believe in Jesus? Then He has given you the power to be His child. Itās as simple as that.
Thatās Godās Word. Fresh ā¦ for you ā¦ today.
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