Devotions based on Trevor Hudson’s book, Discovering our Spiritual Identity

From all eternity it has been God’s purpose that we discover that we are cherished and loved.  We often struggle inwardly to believe this because of childhood memories of abuse, conditional love and acceptance, undermining by others etc. But the truth is every one of us is God’s creation, and He is attentive to what we are experiencing, and has an eternal purpose for our lives. We need to see ourselves through His eyes. We must learn to treat ourselves as dearly beloved of Christ and then we will be freer to give ourselves away to others without resentment too. When we love our selves we can then forget ourselves, direct our attention toward others and respond to their needs.  That means being honest about the various aspects of our inner needs, taking time to listen to them, and open our hearts to His grace and forgiveness.  As we experience being His beloved children we can take the inward journey and face our inner shadows.  “Nothing we uncover can ever render us unlovable to God.”  As we really know this we can reach out to others with transparency and honesty, without being dependent on their approval.  Wherever Jesus went, people knew they were valued and He wants us to relate to others that way too. May we “Bear the beams of His love towards those we meet.”