Have you ever taken a look at yourself in the mirror? What did you see? In all honesty and truth,most of us see very bizarre images of ourselves. You see the problem is not you but the mirror, You do not see who you really are.

Because we can’t appreciate ourselves for who we really are, it has led to what I would arguably call SHAME. Lewis Smedes in his book ‘shame and grace’ defines shame as ” a feeling that comes up on you when no one is looking at you but yourself and what you see is a phony, a coward, a bore ,a failure, a dumbbell, a person whose nose is too big and skin too dark….”

Yeah ,yeah I know you love reading. Let’s look at what Charlie Chaplin,an early 20th century comic says…..” The trouble with the world is that we despise ourselves” Depressing isn’t it?

Do you know why you see what you see??? Let’s find out🙂🙂

Secular culture: our culture basically tells us that in order to be Worthy and acceptable, you must look good, wear a particular outfit, be a 3 pointer basketballer, be a good speaker, get lots of money and the list goes on. So when ever you look at yourself through this mirror of the secular culture, u feel disappointed. It’s not you, it’s the mirror.

Unaccepting parents and friends: I remember how I felt back there in primary five 😢,when my mum lashed out on me saying ‘you dull child’.She later apologized though. Some of you have parents that have said awful things to you, friends that have called you a slut, cranky voice etc. You’ve observed yourself in the mirror of their comments. That’s not the real you, you are judging yourself through the mirror of their distorted comments

Graceless religion: There we go, hear me out first. A graceless religion tells you that in order to be accepted, you must speak in some strange tongue, pray and shout, teach others, must give offering. This creates a false image of God in our minds. We begin to project a God who is almost impossible to please, who is always disappointed with us because we can never measure up. It kicks out grace and puts shame

Guilt: You know, I want you to picture Guilt to be a certain fairy Godmother who says ‘ I did, therefore I am’. All you see when you look at yourself is your past mistakes . You will never find who you truly are by looking at the mirror of your last mistake.

Compulsive comparison: Kingsley Always wants to compare how he looks,what he has, what he knows , what he has done , to others. Ooops, at the end of the day, he just can’t measure up.

If you are still following, let’s look at something that will amaze you

The image of the one who was not distorted- Jesus Matthew 3:13-4:13. Let’s talk about this man called Jesus. When he began his earthly ministry, the devil comes up to him saying, #are you not the one who can turn stone into bread, who can perform miracles, who can jump and not be hurt, # This man refused all this false identities, and figuratively says ‘ I am the one loved by my father’ as told him when he was baptized.

If He ever succeeded through his ministry,its because he saw himself through the right mirror, the love of the father. This man is not just any man, he went to the cross for your iniquities, I call him Savior. You can too. You are fearfully and wonderfully made, knitted and woven together as David will put it. You are an overcomer, a giant, a model, don’t let false mirrors deceive you. See yourself through the love of your creator.Boast your self esteem.

Thanks for reading❤️❤️