Shame and knowing who you are in Christ are complete opposites. And yet somehow, many Christians walk in both simultaneously – or try to. Often, the shame comes out while knowing their identity in Christ slips to the sidelines.
Shame assumes that there is something intrinsically wrong with you – that there is no fixing the things you do wrong because you, yourself, are wrong at your very core. So while it manifests in thinking things like, “I’m too loud; I’d be fine if I could be quieter,” or “I’m just not good at cooking,” or “I’m not yet good enough to deserve success,” it’s rooted in the belief that you are flawed.
In Christ, we have become new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17); the old has passed away, and we have become new. We have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16) and, therefore, access to the mysteries of God. We hear God’s voice and live by His Holy Spirit within us (John 10:27; Romans 8:14).
Those are all good verses and often quoted. The problem is that we then go and look at our lives. “I did that thing I know is wrong. I thought bad thoughts. I’m just not living up to the standard I know should be in a Christian.” And shame – the belief that we are flawed at our core – kicks in.
I’d like to suggest that knowing our identity in Christ isn’t about acting in absolute perfection every second of every day. The beginning of identity in Christ is a base belief of how God sees us through the blood of Christ (Ephesians 2:13). This is righteous, forgiven, and worthy of receiving an inheritance (Ephesians 1:7; 11).
This doesn’t mean we are perfect and everything we do is perfect. It means that we know that at our very core we are righteous, beautiful, and shame-free – a true wonder, especially in our American society today.
To quote a song*,
You read my heart, You read my mind
The hidden places where the treasure’s hard to find…
And through Your eyes I see that I’m a wonder
And in Your eyes I see that I am good
If we knew – if we could only internalize – the way that God sees us, we’d have a firm foundation to stand on. Shame is always shifting; if we take care of one shameful area of our lives, we’ll only be ashamed of something else. But if we know how God sees us, and if we live by that truth – it doesn’t change. It’s setting us up for success instead of the constant churn of not being good enough.
Today, I encourage you to replace the shame in your life with the truth of how God sees you. Deal with the sin in your life. Repent when you do wrong. Don’t fall for the lie that you’re the model of perfection for everyone else. It’s so much easier to do all of that when you’re firmly planted in the truth of who you are instead of the shame of who you’re not.
*Martin Smith, “Everything There is to Know,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W291tPrFlo8
