Thursday, June 25
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people.
—1 Peter 2:9a
Yet, we compare ourselves to the next person walking down the street; we compare ourselves to our co-workers, to our boss, to the media images that constantly barrage us with what is acceptable and perfect. We are afraid we are not as attractive as our friend, that we’re not as smart as our neighbor, that our body shape makes us unappealing, even that our nose is too long. Comparisons often leave our self-esteem in the tank, because we find ourselves focusing on the grandeur of someone else rather than on our own.
Outward appearances, as we know, are deceptive and hardly worth the energy we give them, yet it seems we just can’t seem to let them be in order to go to a deeper and more inward level. In the world of the divine, in the mind of heaven, in the heart of God, we are chosen, we are royal, we are people who represent God, we are people of holiness, we are God’s own treasure.
Somehow, if we can glimpse even a sliver of this truth, we are catapulted out of our paltry, “I’m not as good as…” and into a full and open place where we can live out of our soul with self-confidence and assurance. We are divinely special and our "special-ness" is enough.
Gracious God, when my mind focuses on my flaws, let me see myself through your eyes.
