Article January 13, 2020 Issue

Know what you are

Lois Degler

For many years certain circumstances would trigger in me a response of self-condemnation, followed by feelings of great unworthiness. It was a miserable cycle. And then one day, within that predictable scenario a gentle correcting message came to me: “This is not you.”

Recognizing this as a Christly message from God, divine Love, I found this to be an instant wake-up call to stop entertaining unloving thoughts about myself and instead remember what I am as God’s creation. I felt washed clean. Since then I’ve not been tricked into that destructive thought pattern. Such freedom and peace! I’m grateful for that, of course, but even more so for this evidence of God’s redeeming love.

There’s an account in the Bible that deeply resonates with me about how important it is to know our true identity as God’s children. After a shipwreck during his voyage to Rome as a prisoner, the Apostle Paul and others find safety on an island shore (see Acts 28:1–6). The island natives treat them kindly, making a warm fire to welcome them. But as Paul is adding a bundle of sticks to the fire, a poisonous snake is driven out by the heat and fastens itself on his hand. Seeing this, the natives assume he is a murderer who is now being rightfully punished. Paul’s response is to immediately shake off the viper into the fire, without any hurt to himself. His clear understanding of his relation to God enables him to suffer no harm, despite the drama of the experience and the murmuring of those around him.

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