Self-perception

When we first accept Jesus into our lives and begin our Christian journey, it kick-starts a transforming process in how we think about ourselves. But that process must be continued each day by renewing our minds: ‘Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect’ (Romans 12:2 NLT). When our thinking is changed by God’s Word, two things happen: a) we begin to know His will for us, and b) we realise that He loves us and delights in us. When those two things happen, our self-perception is changed and we’re no longer reliant on other people’s opinions of us for our security and self-esteem. Our opinion of ourselves is deeply affected by the opinions of the authority figures we came across in our early years. If members of our family, teachers, or even people in our church tended to neglect or ignore us, our perception was that we weren’t worth their time, attention, or love, and it tore at our self-worth. But as we grow in God’s Word, we learn to walk in the light of our new self-image and we gain new self-worth. No matter what we’ve been through in life or the mistakes we’ve made, God will help us to realise who we really are and what He’s equipped us to do. Before Paul met Jesus, he killed Christians; that’s as bad as it gets. But after he met Jesus, he wrote, ‘By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect.’ When we understand God’s grace – His unearned, undeserved, unfailing favour towards us – it will deeply and powerfully change how we feel about ourselves.