We are God’s special creation. There is no one like me, and there will never be another you. No, God doesn't clone. Further, He has invested His greatest treasure in our welfare. This shows His great confidence in the potential of each of us.
Thus, we are under a moral obligation, and a God given responsibility.
An obligation to affirm His opinion of us, and the responsibility to cooperate with His purpose in us. Let us never forget that we bear the very image of Christ in our souls. Therefore, potentially, we are all winners! God thinks we have great possibilities. Why shouldn’t we? To believe less in ourselves than God believes in us is plain foolishness. A good self-image promotes good mental health. So, it is good psychology, as well as good theology, to believe in ourselves. Can anyone argue to the contrary that self-doubt brings on depression, and a spirit of defeatism? We should, therefore, in the words of Saint Augustine, “Think God’s thoughts after Him.”
Fretting over sin and feeling guilty, most often the cause for the mental doldrums is really nothing less than an abnormal reaction to our failure to measure up to His standard, I believe. I said, abnormal, because that is exactly the way God sees it.
Look once again at what He has to say,
The Ten Commandments were given so that all could see the extent of their failure to obey God’s laws. But the more we see our sinfulness, the more we see God’s abounding grace forgiving us. Before, sin ruled over all men and brought them to death, but now God’s kindness rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Rom. 5:20-21, TLB)
Therefore, there is no excuse for us living with guilt and to fret over shortcomings or inadequacies. He offers unconditional forgiveness and immediate spiritual rehabilitation for those who ask. So, why should we worry over a non-existing problem, once our sins are forgiven?
Once we are forgiven God never puts us back on a guilt trip. We do that ourselves.
Thus, we are under a moral obligation, and a God given responsibility.
An obligation to affirm His opinion of us, and the responsibility to cooperate with His purpose in us. Let us never forget that we bear the very image of Christ in our souls. Therefore, potentially, we are all winners! God thinks we have great possibilities. Why shouldn’t we? To believe less in ourselves than God believes in us is plain foolishness. A good self-image promotes good mental health. So, it is good psychology, as well as good theology, to believe in ourselves. Can anyone argue to the contrary that self-doubt brings on depression, and a spirit of defeatism? We should, therefore, in the words of Saint Augustine, “Think God’s thoughts after Him.”
Fretting over sin and feeling guilty, most often the cause for the mental doldrums is really nothing less than an abnormal reaction to our failure to measure up to His standard, I believe. I said, abnormal, because that is exactly the way God sees it.
Look once again at what He has to say,
The Ten Commandments were given so that all could see the extent of their failure to obey God’s laws. But the more we see our sinfulness, the more we see God’s abounding grace forgiving us. Before, sin ruled over all men and brought them to death, but now God’s kindness rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Rom. 5:20-21, TLB)
Therefore, there is no excuse for us living with guilt and to fret over shortcomings or inadequacies. He offers unconditional forgiveness and immediate spiritual rehabilitation for those who ask. So, why should we worry over a non-existing problem, once our sins are forgiven?
Once we are forgiven God never puts us back on a guilt trip. We do that ourselves.
No comments:
Post a Comment
We appreciate your comments and opinions, please continue.