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| The River Raisin |
"Basil Pennington and Henri Nouwen both agree that, at base, “the construct of the false self… is made up of what I have, what I do, and what others think of me”— a falsity many of us have unwittingly bought into even though it runs counter to our God-given identity." (Will Hernandez, Henri Nouwen and Spiritual Polarities: A Life of Tension, Kindle Locations 619-622.
God wants to strip away what we have, our accomplishments (what we do), and free us from what others think of us. When this happens there won't be much of us left... unless we find our true self as sons and daughters of God.
Unless this stripping away happens we screw up our understanding and experience of God's love. We live in perpetual falsehood, under the delusion that our stuff and our awards or lack thereof constitute our identity. God, instead, looks into the human heart where things and trophies are nonexistent. And what people think of us matters not.
You are not what you have. Your bling does not define you.
You are not what you do. Your trophies do not define you.
You are not what others think of you, whether positive or negative.
You are what God thinks of you. To realize this is the moment of freedom, the beginning of life abundant.
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My recent book is Praying: Reflections on 40 Years of Solitary Conversations with God.
I'm currently writing Leading the Presence-Driven Church.
