Because of the broken and fallen world we live in, it is so easy for us to search for self-worth in other places besides God (especially if you do not have a relationship with Christ). It is so easy to fall into the conformities of this world and judge yourself; especially in comparison to others. (Ex: Do you find worth in how much money you have, how good you are at athletics, what brand of clothes you wear, what kind of car you drive, how many friends you have, etc?) We all have done this and will struggle with this for as long as we live, but the good news is that we can prosper through these times of self-doubt by remembering that our fate is already sealed in Jesus Christ. We do not need to be bound by trying to prove our worth to people of this earth; we are all truly accepted and loved by God!
We are accepted and loved so much by Christ that like the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), when we sin, God, the Father is running to meet us and to hold us in His arms for He loves us and forgives us unconditionally! Take worth in this!
In a world where performance is everything, take heart in the following.
With God:
· *We Are Accepted
o “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” – Romans 15:7
o “Man does not comprehend its worth; it cannot be found in the land of the living.” - Job 28:13
· *We Are Never Alone
o “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.” – Hebrews 13:5b
o “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels or demons, neither the present or the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”- Romans 8:38-39
· *We Have Hope
o “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall, but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” – Isaiah 40:30-32
o “And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” – Romans 5:5
o “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13
· *We Are Perfect
o “Because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.”- Romans 10:14
· *We Are Perfectly Loved
o “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.” – John 15:9
o “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16
· *We Lack Nothing
o “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:19
· *We Are Victorious
o “With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies.” – Psalm 60:12
o “But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” – 1 Cor 15:57
o “For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” – 1 John 5:4-5
· *We Are Protected
o “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” – Psalm 23:4
o “You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.” – Psalm 32:7
· *We Are Comforted
o “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” – 2 Cor 1:3-4
· *We Are Totally Forgiven
o “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” – Acts 3:19
o “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”– Psalm 103:12
o “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” – John 1:29
· *We Are New Creations
o “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come; the old has gone, the new is here.” – 2 Cor 5:17
· *We Are Created in the Image of God
o “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth.” – Genesis 1:26a
In addition to the items mentioned above, we can also look at Colossians 2, which truly depicts how we are able to live free from human regulations through a life with Christ! Jesus is adequate enough to fill ALL of our needs and desires!
“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.
For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.
When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.
Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.” - Colossians 2:6-23
