“Can u guys come for supper one night this week??”
That’s what the text said. Our friends invited us over for dinner. It’s always fun to share a meal with friends. Great conversation, timely stories, and often a good belly laugh makes the time enjoyable. Many of the times that I cherish most in my life are shared with close friends. I replied, and immediately started looking forward to our evening together.
As we arrived at their home, we walked into the kitchen and I saw some other friends as well. They were helping prepare things in the kitchen. I thought to myself “Okay, the more the merrier!” Then I heard the words that made me suddenly feel uneasy.
“Surprise! This is for you! Happy Birthday!”
Thoughts, like a monsoon, flooded into my head.
“Oh no! This is a celebration for me.” “What should I say? What should I do?” “I’m not worthy of this.”
There is something inside of me that does not like to be the center of attention. It’s something I’ve struggled with as long as I can remember.
The hesitation and fear of attention stem from one of the thoughts that bathed over me. The thought that told me that I wasn’t worthy.
For years, I would place labels on myself that nobody else could see.
One label said “Overweight.” (Okay, people could see that one!)
Another said “Thief.”
I put a really big one on me that said “Former Porn Addict.”
Another big one said “Failure.”
In my 42 years of walking this earth, I’ve let those labels determine who I am and how I felt about myself. I chose to live in the shadow of my failures. I believed I was an overweight, perverted thief, among so many other labels.
God’s Word contradicts those labels:
When Paul penned 2 Corinthians 5:17, he wrote it directly to me. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” I have been made new in God’s holy image. Ephesians 4:22-24 also states this so precisely. “ You were taught with regard to your old self which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires, to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
The fact that we are new creations in Christ is an amazing life-changing truth. Those labels that I put on myself have not only been removed, they’ve been decimated. The Greek word for ‘gone’ in 2 Corinthians 5:17, parerchomai, means “to perish.” Therefore, the labels I put on myself are dead. They’re gone forever.
Some of the large labels were covering up other labels I’d lost sight of. Labels for the qualities that Christ himself put on me. They include: creative, humorous, loved, redeemed and so many others. I couldn’t see them for so long.
Are there some labels that you’ve put on yourself that you just can’t shed? You cannot do it on your own. Ask our Holy Father to remove them.
Heavenly Father, I am your child. You have made me a brand-new creation in your likeness. Lord, none of the labels I have put on myself describe you. I boldly ask that you remove those labels so I may dwell richly in your presence; enjoying the life you have created for me. Your Word teaches me that you have forgiven my past and it’s gone from your memory. Would you please grant me the same? May my past be gone from my sights and all I see is Your view of me? Thank you Heavenly Father.
Sure, there will be times when the discomfort still creeps its way in. For me, it just did in early January at our friend’s home. But I’m not letting those labels, that have been shredded by God, define who I am anymore.
Once I allowed the discomfort to fade away, I had an incredible night filled with laughter, birthday cake, and memories with good friends.
