We will be convening here at the ZigZag café, Suisse, on Thursdays for conversation and dialogue.
I invite you to stop by every Thursday for the question of the day. Your thoughts and participation are most welcome. Pull up a stool, avec un café, un thé, ou un chocolat chaud, et un croissant, and join in here on Thursday at the ZZ café.
For today:
What’s the best way to deal with a shame based identity?
7 comments:
Hey Greg,
I'm not sure there is a "best" way to deal with a shame based identity. First of all, obviously, to fully deal with it we need to be in Christ and living by the Holy Spirit.
Practically, what we can do, there is not much. I think it takes time, grace from God and others, and a desire to fight and live in freedom.
There is no easy route, but it is one that is possible, I think. This side of Heaven, it may not be totally possible, but I think we can make significant progress in this area with God's help.
John,
Thanks for the comment.
Hi Greg and John,
What is a Mothers Love compared to a hard proffesors or football coaches Love?
How do we look at ourselves the way Christ looks at us through Grace, when there is an obvious discrepancy.
If Christ commands us to Forgive ourselves and others He must think it is possible?
Can Forgiveness cause an actual change or just a feeling of change?
Does imputed Rightouesness really work?
Thoughts I have.
Hey,
This is an awesome topic. I think that most evangelical circles of which I am a part (churches, Bible studies, etc.) are a lot better at tough love than they are at understanding shame.
I read something about Rob Bell in Out of Ur the other day. Makes me wonder if a lot of people are just desperate wondering if God loves them...
Someone once told me that we all read scripture through our own lense to one extent or another. It's easy for some of us to notice the turn the other cheek thing, the submit thing, but miss ideas about justice, hope, and healing. Like John said, we all need the Holy Spirit working in our hearts and lives, as well as patience and grace from one another...
A while ago my pastor did a series on grace. It was amazing. I wonder if we just started talking more about grace...When we truly understand the grace God has for us, it changes the way we respond to one another, too. It is never a waste of time.
I wonder if we had deeper relationships with one another, better community. For me, this has meant learning some humility along the way, too. When we are comfortable bringing our questions and shame to one another, it loses some of its power.
Harry coe,
Thanks for the comment. Romans 6, tied in with chapter 8 are wonderful chapters on this. No condemnation for those that are in Christ.
The walk,
Great first sentence in your comment. Sad, but true.
And yes, we need the HS, and I might add, a good sense of grappling with the biblical text.
I'm always glad to hear that grace is being preached and lived. Let's impoverish shame.
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