is a big problem if we don't have a foundation of grace in our lives -- totally believe that He loves us just as we are. But this is not our BIGgest problem. An even bigger problem is our view of ourselves. Unless we're unusually-self-aware we won't realize how much self-contempt-avoidance explains so much of why we do what we do, think what we think. We won't even be able to look inside and see the problem of suppressed self-contempt and our drivenness to be good, be right, be better. And the conditional love we have for ourselves when we perform up to expectations. We won't see how unsatisfied we are with Jesus and His imputed worthiness, wanting some of our own. So Jesus will be a little deal in our daily living, and our worthiness/performance will be the BIG deal.
Why is this a problem? We Christians do not experience the benefit of Jesus in THIS life, so we function like Christian atheists, with the weight of the world on our shoulders. Everything is UP TO US. Not Jesus-dependents, but human-wisdom-dependents -- wise in our own eyes, leaning on our own understanding. Uncompelling to the seculars around us.
-- Dave McCarty, GospelFriendships
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