Christian Crier
The beginning and end to all issues of self-worth is in Jesus’s death on the cross. How can we believe we aren’t worthy, when he so passionately did? If faith is believing in God and his ability to work in our lives, then what are we saying when we refuse to believe that He loves us? I do not mean to downplay the struggle that comes with low self-worth and issues of self-esteem. Only to suggest that it is NOT from God. When you cannot believe that anyone in the world would love you, know that God does. He declared it on the cross, shouts it in the Bible, and whispers it to you in his acts of love. Read on to discover just how worth it you are.
Romans 12:3
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.
In this day and age we are bombarded with the message to “Love Ourselves.” Self-help books, songs, slogans, are all screaming out that the way out of low self-esteem is to just love yourself more. In some ways this message is disrespectful to those struggling, because it makes them feel as if they are just not doing enough, not forcing enough good feelings, or they would be happy. Romans 12:3 makes me believe that the focus should be less on self-love, and more on introspection and humility. We are called to use the faith we have to love Jesus more than ourselves. The by-product being that we often find the most love for ourselves when we are busy loving Him.
1 Peter 1:18-19
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
Imagine you’d been kidnapped by someone intent on taking your life, as an act of revenge for something you’d done. Your loved ones offered every amount of ransom imaginable-cash, jewelry, silver and gold-and yet your kidnappers were determined to finish you. But then, a rescuer stepped forward and requested to take your place and settle your debt with Him. To pay your ransom with his life, and allow you to go free. That is what Jesus did for us, on the cross. He took the pain, so you would know the truth about yourself: You are loved, and you were worth it.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
Whatever has been done in the past, we cannot let it affect the way we shape our future with Christ. Holding on to a past that makes us feel unworthy, only hold us back from doing the work He has for us in the present. If you have given your life to Him, you are a new creation. Don’t spend any more time wearing the sins of the old one.
1 Samuel 16:7
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Sometimes, what the world deems as successful or attractive, is set up as the standard to which all worthiness is measured. I love so much that God does not use the same scale. He knows our hearts- he created them-and looks to them to determine our beauty. Don’t change a good heart to fit into a hard world. God sees you fully, and knows where your worth lies.
Hebrews 2:6-7
But there is a place where someone has testified:
“What is mankind that you are mindful of them, a son of man that you care for him? You made them a little lower than the angels; you crowned them with glory and honor
It can be difficult, in the day to day of driving to work, running errands, and making dinner, to remember that we are not of this world. That we did not come from it, and will not come back to it in the end. We become used to the routine, when all the while, we are wearing crowns of glory right atop our dinner-making heads. How can it be that the man stuck in traffic next to you is just beneath the angels in heaven in terms of holiness? Because we are the sons and daughters of a King, who crazy loves us. Even while making dinner. Wear your crown, and believe you’re worthy of it. Your Father says you are.
Ephesians 3:17-18
..so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,
There is something that comes from knowing we are loved that frees us to be ourselves. As a mother, my goal is to send my children out into the world, so rooted in the love and acceptance they get from home, that their confidence is unbreakable. That is the kind of power we are bestowed when we have faith in our Father’s love. That we will always be safe, always be accepted, and always, always, be loved.
Psalm 139:13-14
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well
You know that curly head of hair that makes you crazy? Your tendency to cry at Hallmark commercials? That big, belly laugh that makes everyone smile when they hear it? None of that was an accident (unless you got a really bad perm). All of the traits that make up who we are, on the outside and in, were pre-ordained by a thoughtful God with a big plan. Your traits, abilities, and gifts were made fearfully, wonderfully, and perfectly. Know it, full well.
Conclusion
Oh what a struggle it can be to recognize the worth we have in Jesus. Perhaps it is because we have become conditioned to base our worth on the world’s view. We are told from the beginning that we must be more, accomplish more, and look better doing it. Should we fail in any of those categories, it can be so easy to believe that we have failed as a person. But then, there’s God. A God whom has said, from the very beginning, that we were made in His image, as an act of love. We must be strong enough to look past the world, to see ourselves in him. That’s the self that is worth finding.
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