Embracing Our Identity in Christ
One of the greatest dangers in the spiritual life is self-rejection. When we say, “If people really knew me, they wouldn’t love me,” we choose the road toward darkness. Often we are made to believe that self-deprecation is a virtue, called humility. But humility is in reality the opposite of self-deprecation.
It is the grateful recognition that we are precious in God’s eyes and that all we are is a pure gift. To grow beyond self-rejection we must have the courage to listen to the voice calling us God’s beloved sons and daughters, and the determination always to live our lives according to this truth.
—Dennis Kinslaw
This Day with the Master
One of the most beautiful aspects of the prodigal son parable to me is the way the father watched and waited for his son’s return. In life, I sort of experienced this. My own parents had cause to watch and wait for my return from prodigal wanderings. I was one of the very fortunate ones. Mom and Dad embodied that father’s love, praying, waiting, expectantly for that moment I appeared on the horizon. That is a parents’ love! Our Heavenly Father loves us like that! Perfectly. We can (and all too often, we do) look away from our Father’s love, but His love never forsakes us! Humility is realizing that we are God’s children. Beloved children. On our best days and on our worst, this fact never changes. As often as we find ourselves walking astray, may we have the wherewithal to remember our true identity in Christ … and turn for home. Where are you at today? Is it time to come home? —DH
—David Hoskins, Founder & Care Guide, Sanctuary Clinics