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Freedom From Guilt and Shame

 

 

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Bondage began in the garden of Eden when Adam and Eve disobeyed God.  Through disobedience came the knowledge of sin, and with the knowledge of sin, guilt and shame.  God, being a merciful judge as well as just one, sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to be a propitiation for our sin and free us from punishment, guilt, and shame.  Satan, true to his nature, takes this truth and twists it. His tactics include attempting to dislodge God from His rightful place as Judge Supreme, telling us our sin is not really that bad, and luring us away from the cross of reconciliation towards the appealing (albeit unrealistic) idea that we can justify ourselves.  Rather than finding our hope in Christ, we search for it elsewhere, at least I do. Rather than recognize how the gospel both reveals my depravity and provides for it at the same time, I sometimes downplay my depravity, or the power of the cross to sufficiently cover my sin, guilt, and shame.  I am prone to look outward versus upward in my depravity, as if horizontal provision for depravity exists.    

 

1 I feel the verdict is in and I am “not enough”. (Colossians 2;10)

   I allow others or my own inner critic to determine my identity (rather than claiming the identity 

   Christ offers me, through the new life His blood purchased for me).

2 I view pain as punishment.  

3 I feel compelled to strive (physically, spiritually, emotionally, and mentally), in hopes of becoming

    “good enough” to avoid both the criticism of others or my own inner critic, and pain or punishment.  

 

The reality is: 

1 Who has the right to condemn?

2 Who alone humbles and exalts?

3 Who will bring about perfect justice ?

4 Who decides how one star differs from another (all for His glory)?

 

My depravity is real, but there is a real hope for my depravity.  Christ has paid for my sin and despite what I do not deserve, He offers me new life, and freedom from guilt and shame.

 

1 Why do I entertain lesser judgement (judge myself or allow the judgement of others to rest on me)

    when God alone is Judge Supreme?

2 Why do I accept rather than challenge claims that I am better than others (pride) 

    or not as good as others? 

    (aligning with horizontal views vs vertical truths)?

3 Why do I doubt Divine justice when situations cause me, or those for whom I feel compassion, 

    to experience pain?  

4 Why do I categorize, or allow others to categorize differences, creating false hierarchies among us?

 

Looking for my identity through a horizontal versus a vertical lense is a chasing of the wind.  It results in me judging others and tentatively elevating myself, or more often, feeling judged and allowing the judgement of others (real or perceived) to define me and drive me down.   When down, rather than humble myself before God who draws near to the humble and exalts them in due time, I seek to elevate myself by striving to meet the standards I feel others have set for me, or I have set for myself.  The illusion is that if I try hard enough I will be able to avoid the condemnation and criticism of others, as well as the voice of my own inner critic. The truth is, self elevation is self defeating; at the core, it cannot make us feel better about ourselves.  We were not meant to be exalted, only to be raised in freedom by the One through whom all things were created and for whom all things exist.  

 

The true Judge and executor of justice sits on His throne with mercy, waiting not to judge us but to return us to a right relationship with Him.  He invites us to immerse ourselves in truth rather than self-focused deprecation. He alone is God. He alone has the authority to humble and exalt.  He alone will bring about perfect justice, and alone be glorified. 

 

Identity in Christ is the identity we search for.  It is a gift, the minute we think we deserve it, we cease to understand it.  It is easier to proclaim a new identity than it is to live it, particularly when your new identity reorients you to a vertical reality but the world you inhabit operates as if the only reality is horizontal.  Living with a keen awareness of identity in Christ is something we must fight for. The lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life continue to ask, “Who are you really?” and “Are you enough?”  I must answer these questions with different questions, “Whose am I?” and “Is Christ enough?” As long as I look to others and to my own inner critic for validation I will continue to feel guilt and shame. I will never be good enough and I will continue to view the pain life brings as punishment I could have avoided.  The needed shift comes from finding my identity in Christ, and keeping it there.

 

What the heart longs for most is not more recognition regarding things that may seem worthy of congratulation here but will ultimately return to dust.  In eternity, it will not matter how beautiful or successful or well respected or full our lives were in an earthly sense. I have yet to read of anyone in Heaven being praised, other than the Trinity Himself.   What the heart longs for most is to connect with the unsearchable glories of God. His ways are magnificent beyond our comprehension. Sometimes it is easier to share a recipe or give pointers on how to house train a pet, than it is to together untap the mysteries He invites us to explore.  The thing is, I may totally botch the recipe and my puppy may not respond to the latest findings in pet psychology quite like yours did, but who Christ is and who I am in Him, can grow more precious each day despite my weakness and the brokenness of life.  

 

In eternity pain will be no more, and because of this, even a lifetime of suffering is nothing in comparison to the glory to come (see Romans 8:18). I appreciate advice on how to avoid pain in life (I have yet to meet a pain I like), but more so I appreciate the acknowledgment that pain is an inevitable part of living in a broken world.  There are some things you cannot fix for me and I cannot fix for myself. You can help me take these things to the One who will decide whether to fix them, or, to give me grace to endure as He uses them for His glory and my ultimate good.

 

Christ has come, not just into the world but into my heart.  A new verdict is in.

 

1. I am enough.*(Not because of my own righteousness but because of His).

2. Life in Christ is still subject to pain, but it is no longer subject to punishment.  Christ bore our punishment, He will help us bear our pain.  

3. I do not need to become anything other than what I already am, “His”.  That is enough.

 

Guilt and shame enslave us, new life in Christ frees us.  May His grace help me break free from guilt and shame and live saturated in the identity that is mine in Christ.   

 

“...if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”  John 8:36 (ESV)  

 

*“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature...”   II Peter 1:3 (ESV)

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