Consider this thought from a wonderful Christian in the early days of the Church, Irenaeus (130-202 AD):
“The glory of God is a human being fully alive.”
For many, this thought is a hurdle. It is a challenge to believe that God is glorified when you experience full life. The hurdle is a lie of the devil placed deep in the mind. It is the lie that says God is glorified when you are put to shame, disgraced, found out, or put in your place. That God would glory in your shame is a lie, a lie of the devil. Consciously, you know it is a lie. However, you act, think, and feel as if it were true.
There is a reason this lie is so deep in the mind of so many people. Everyone has experienced relationships, and a few have experienced significant and consistent relationships, where the other person rejoices in your shame, is glad to see you put down, and finds “glory” in your disgrace. A family member, a boss, a co-worker, a false-friend finds their own sense of self build up when they see you put down. A boss demonstrates he is smart by saying (in so many words) that you are stupid. A sister builds up her beauty by making you feel ugly. A co-worker advances his or her success by pointing out your (real or manufactured) failures. Such people “glory” in making you look and feel ashamed. Such people come in every walk of life; a teacher, a parent, a spouse, a trusted friend turned traitor, or even a spiritual leader.
What such people did to you was wrong, sinful, and evil. They wounded you. And the wound left a bleeding gash in the secret place within you. Like the woman who hemorrhaged for years until she touched the hem of Christ’s garment, you may have been hemorrhaging in your inner life for decades.
The devil takes advantage of an inner wound. Into the wound, he plants his lie – “you are unlovable, you are worthless, and you are rejected.” The lie the devil planted in my soul was this one: “Richard, you are such a disappointment.”
- Today, my friends, I declare to you that it is a LIE. IT IS A LIE of the devil. Denounce it. Expel it. Trust God to cleans it from you mind.
- Today, I announce to you that JESUS CHRIST HAS COME TO BRING LIFE, AND BRING IT TO THE FULL (John 10:10). It is not the life of a lying world, but the life of Christ Himself in you.
- Today, I challenge you to stop doing what the world needs you to do, stop doing what the lie dictate, and find out WHAT KEEPS YOU ALIVE IN CHRIST JESUS. Do that.
What this world needs is you full of life in Christ.
Copyright © Richard Leslie Parrott, Ph.D.