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Divinely Designed
Being changed into the image of Jesus
Being changed into the image of Jesus
Chapter 12
The Good Part of You -
You Are Not All Bad
In the deep recesses of your being, how do you feel about yourself? I am not
talking about your accomplishments or the image you present to the world,
but how you feel deep down inside about yourself. For instance,
these questions! Most assuredly, I was one of them.
Why would you feel this way? Is there nothing good that dwells in you? Do
you therefore need to "die to self?" After all, if you are "bad," this would
explain why you feel like a worm.
Who Does God Say We Are?
God doesn’t agree with this derogatory view we may have of ourselves. He
is very clear about this. We are made in His image. You are. I am. It is not
just God in us that is good (though there are also places like that). There are
places in each of us that are purely "us," that are a part of who we are, that
are good. It is not just the Holy Spirit in us that is good. When God said, "Let
Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness" (Genesis 1:26), He did
not say, "Let us make man to be Us." We are separate creatures from Him.
We are unique, but made in His image. He is the pattern, but we are not Him,
and He is not us. This reality may be difficult for many to grasp, since there
has been so much teaching and preaching about how awful we are.
His Image Did Not Leave Us When Adam
And Eve Sinned
We are made in His image, and His image still dwells in us. Theologians do
not disagree regarding the fact that the image of God dwells in us now.
Where there is dispute is in regard to exactly what constitutes the good part
and what makes up the bad part. This dispute is not likely to be resolved
until Jesus comes again, because the Scripture is not specific enough to tell
us. Fortunately, we don’t need to know in detail, because Jesus knows. The
key point for us to realize is that there is, here and now, a good part in each
of us that is made in the image of God!
Humility and Pride
Humility is a word that is frequently misused. Often humility is viewed as
recognizing what a worm I am, and how bad I am. "I am just an old sinner."
But humility really means to see myself the way God sees me. When Jesus
walked the earth He was humble, and yet He did not see Himself as a worm.
He did not see Himself as less than He was, nor more than He was. He saw
Himself as God the Father saw Him. He was the only begotten Son and He
was God, but He was not God the Father. He did the will of the Father, not
His own will (Matthew 26:39), because God the Father was preeminent.
Humility is about truth. We are not to see ourselves as more than we are, nor
less than we are. Certainly, to see the truth about who we are in comparison
with who God is eliminates the possibility of prideful boasting on our part.
And yet, we are valuable because we are valuable to God. At the same time,
it is important that we find out who the unique person is that God made us to
be. To recognize our strengths that He gave us as a gift is not prideful or
wrong. Pride says that we did something to earn it. Gifts by their very nature
are not earned. They are freely bestowed on us and are dependent on the
giver, not the receiver. So our strengths are free gifts bestowed on us, not
things we manufactured or earned by our own effort. Pride is to see myself
as more than I am. See Chapter 13, "The Bad Part Of You," for more on pride.
Why Do We See Ourselves As Worms?
Let me try to explain why so many of us feel badly about ourselves. For
some of us, we got constant messages from our parents that we weren't
worth much. Most importantly, our parents did not give us messages that
confirm the truth about our worth and our Treasure Inside - we were victims
of Type A Trauma. You may remember that destroying our sense of being
loveable and worthwhile is exactly what Type A Trauma does. Type A
Trauma is epidemic, and to some degree it is probably universal.
Other Voices
Our siblings likely also gave us these same messages that did not confirm
our worth. Since they were raised in the same home, they also suffered from
Type A Trauma. In such a home there is competition for the few crumbs of
The Blessing which are available in the family. Each child is trying to raise
himself above the others, because if he can feel superior to another child, he
won’t feel so badly about himself at that moment.
My Sister's Voice
I have an older sister who was also very wounded by Type A Trauma. She
was three years older than I, was a brilliant student, and was much larger
than I was. When I was growing up she would set traps for me and play
tricks on me to prove how much better she was, and she used to beat me up
and take my stuff. She used to make fun of me, and called me “Shrimpo,"
because for much of our time growing up I only came up to her shoulder.
She did all of these things to make herself feel a little better about herself, and
what she said and did tore me down even further. Her message just added to
my already fragile self-image.
Our Culture's Voice
Our culture also tells us how unworthy we are. The other children are doing
the same thing as our siblings – competing for the crumbs of blessing that
are available. Our culture is obsessed with being Number One, and
competing to be Number One is seen as a wonderful thing! Since by
definition there can only be one Number One, that makes the rest of us
“losers." And those who are Number One in football are probably not
Number One in math, or art, or perhaps anything except athletics. Thus they
too are “losers." Therefore we are all losers, and most of us feel that way
about ourselves. It is a cultural sickness, and is beautifully described as
such by Alfie Kohn in his book, "No Contest".
Interestingly, when we compare ourselves with others, the areas where we
aren’t as good as the others are what impact us. Ironically, when we become
Number One at something, it seems hollow. The good feeling of having
achieved this victory is fleeting, and we still feel badly about ourselves,
because we focus on those areas where we fall short. God is clear about
this: But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing
themselves among themselves, are not wise (2 Corinthians 10:12, KJV).
The Church's Voice
The Church has also tended to focus on the bad, giving us the impression
that there is nothing good that dwells in us. One scripture presented in
support of this is Romans 7:18:
It is in my flesh only that nothing good dwells, and these teachers assume
this refers to all of my natural being. But flesh (Greek sarx) is another fuzzy
Greek word. A detailed study reveals that my flesh, as referred to in this
scripture, is only a part of me, not all of my being. Read Chapter 13, “The Bad
Part Of You” for more on this. Jeremiah Chapter 17 is often raised as proof
that nothing good dwells in me. Again, we are faced with a fuzzy word, the
Hebrew word leb. There is significant doubt that Jeremiah is referring to our
entire inner man.
Further evidence we see of our own awfulness is that we are not living up to
the standards laid out for us by the church. Deep inside we know we are
falling short, and we feel that others are more successful as Christians. I
then think, "I am surely bad."
We Believe All These Voices
So we believed all these voices that surrounded our formative years.
Certainly, we think, they can’t all be wrong. From all of this we receive our
identity. We see ourselves as bad. But these voices are all wrong. God
sees us differently, and He is always right.
How Can We See Ourselves As God Sees Us?
Many other teachers and authors have made lists of scriptures that tell us
how much God loves us, how valuable we are in His sight, how we are His
children, etc. They encourage us to meditate on this list, with the implication
that this exercise will convince us of who we really are. While it is very
important to know how God feels about us, meditating on such a list (with
our head) will not change how we feel about ourselves.
Those of you that have tried this know how ineffective, frustrating, and
discouraging this is. In our head we know how God see us, but the
messages fail to make the journey to our heart. Our feelings don’t change.
Then how can you change how you feel about yourself?
This Book Is Intended To Show You How
That is what this book is intended to show you. If you read the book and
walk it out, you will begin to see yourself as God sees you, because the living
God will show you. As you begin to feel His love, the lies about how bad you
are will be washed away. Remember that judging yourself causes the wound
which triggers the Big Hurt, and this happens because this bitter root is so
contrary to how God intended for you to see yourself.
Summary
The purpose of this chapter has been to help you recognize some
misconceptions about how bad you are.
There is a part of you that was corrupted by The Fall, but this corrupted part
is not all of who you are. There is a part of you that is made in the image of
God. It is "you," it is good, and it still exists in you. God says so in His Word.
This is true whether you believe it or not.
A key part of your sanctification process (Inner Healing) is a complete
change of attitude towards who you are. There is buried treasure inside
you (Read Chapter 9). You need to come to know that this is true before you
can possibly be reconciled with yourself and have harmony inside. After all,
who would want to love and be best friends with something evil?
For you to be sanctified (changed into the image of Jesus), all that is "you"
does not have to die. You are not rotten to the core. God does not
intend to annihilate you and replace you with Jesus.
The last chapter posted on this website describes in detail why it is so
important to see ourselves as God does, and to love ourselves (our Treasure
Inside) as he does.
Click here to go to Chapter 18, "Love, An Essential Ingredient."
The Rest Of The Story
Now that you have read a number of key chapters in "I Will Give You Rest," I
hope that you have discovered some valuable insights for yourself.
As I have said before, there is much more in the book.
You have read less than one half of what the book contains. What has not
been included online are several additional very important concepts that you
need to understand, as well as detailed biblical support for the whole
book. I am adamant that anything I say needs to be supported by the Bible.
It would be a huge benefit to you to buy the print version of the whole book.
That way you will have all the information, and you can have the information
readily accessible by your side.
You can buy the book by clicking here (or in the list on the top left side of
the page).
There are discounted prices for multiple books, as well as when the book is
to be used in ministerial situations (Bible study groups, counseling, etc.). For
this, click on the "Buy Multiple Books" link on the top left of this page.
Unconditional Guarantee
If you buy the book, and the rest of it does not bless you; you can return it
for a full refund.
Putting This In Perspective
One alternative is to now do nothing, to simply go on living as you have
been, and to continue to struggle in the same ways you have. Since you
have been motivated to read these 6 chapters, I suspect that doing nothing is
not your top choice.
Psychotherapy is another option. However, it is expensive (costs
between $70 and $150 per hour, and it usually takes a large number of
sessions), and it does not come with a money back guarantee. Besides,
psychotherapy doesn't work. You may already know that.
Your best choice is to learn how Jesus provided for your healing,
and then engage in His process. You can do this by buying the book. At a
one time cost of $21, it costs about the same as one 15 minute
psychotherapy session. And if the book doesn't work, you can get your
money back!
We want everyone to experience the freedom Jesus promised!
If you can not afford to buy a copy, e-mail us your situation and we will
consider sending you a free copy.
Why The Book Isn't All Free
There are several reasons why we have not included the whole book on our
website.
Some reasons are technical. For example, the book itself has many
footnotes, which are supplied to support and enrich what is said in the main
body of text. Unfortunately, the footnote feature of Microsoft Word is not
supported by our website development software, and so that rich additional
information is missing from what you have read.
Another reason is financial. This is a ministry, and revenue from the book
helps support this website and our other outreaches.
Consider Making A Donation
We believe that all Christians desperately need the message of Christ's
healing ways described in this book.
If the posting of these chapters on the web has blessed you, we
would like you to consider making a donation to this ministry,
so that others can also be set free.
Click here to make a donation. Click on the "Make A Donation" button, and
then enter the amount you wish to contribute.
Copyright 2003 Edward Kurath
The Good Part of You -
You Are Not All Bad
In the deep recesses of your being, how do you feel about yourself? I am not
talking about your accomplishments or the image you present to the world,
but how you feel deep down inside about yourself. For instance,
- • Do you tend to see others as better and more capable than you?
• Do you always feel “less than” others?
• Do others seem to you to be more worthy of happiness and
prosperity?
• Do you have a "poverty mentality?" (A poverty mentality is the
expectation that you will never have more than the minimum necessary
to live on, and that you are not worthy of more).
• Are you too easily embarrassed?
• Are you petrified to speak in front of a group?
• Do you live in fear of being rejected?
• Do you often feel like a worm?
these questions! Most assuredly, I was one of them.
Why would you feel this way? Is there nothing good that dwells in you? Do
you therefore need to "die to self?" After all, if you are "bad," this would
explain why you feel like a worm.
Who Does God Say We Are?
God doesn’t agree with this derogatory view we may have of ourselves. He
is very clear about this. We are made in His image. You are. I am. It is not
just God in us that is good (though there are also places like that). There are
places in each of us that are purely "us," that are a part of who we are, that
are good. It is not just the Holy Spirit in us that is good. When God said, "Let
Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness" (Genesis 1:26), He did
not say, "Let us make man to be Us." We are separate creatures from Him.
We are unique, but made in His image. He is the pattern, but we are not Him,
and He is not us. This reality may be difficult for many to grasp, since there
has been so much teaching and preaching about how awful we are.
His Image Did Not Leave Us When Adam
And Eve Sinned
We are made in His image, and His image still dwells in us. Theologians do
not disagree regarding the fact that the image of God dwells in us now.
Where there is dispute is in regard to exactly what constitutes the good part
and what makes up the bad part. This dispute is not likely to be resolved
until Jesus comes again, because the Scripture is not specific enough to tell
us. Fortunately, we don’t need to know in detail, because Jesus knows. The
key point for us to realize is that there is, here and now, a good part in each
of us that is made in the image of God!
Humility and Pride
Humility is a word that is frequently misused. Often humility is viewed as
recognizing what a worm I am, and how bad I am. "I am just an old sinner."
But humility really means to see myself the way God sees me. When Jesus
walked the earth He was humble, and yet He did not see Himself as a worm.
He did not see Himself as less than He was, nor more than He was. He saw
Himself as God the Father saw Him. He was the only begotten Son and He
was God, but He was not God the Father. He did the will of the Father, not
His own will (Matthew 26:39), because God the Father was preeminent.
Humility is about truth. We are not to see ourselves as more than we are, nor
less than we are. Certainly, to see the truth about who we are in comparison
with who God is eliminates the possibility of prideful boasting on our part.
And yet, we are valuable because we are valuable to God. At the same time,
it is important that we find out who the unique person is that God made us to
be. To recognize our strengths that He gave us as a gift is not prideful or
wrong. Pride says that we did something to earn it. Gifts by their very nature
are not earned. They are freely bestowed on us and are dependent on the
giver, not the receiver. So our strengths are free gifts bestowed on us, not
things we manufactured or earned by our own effort. Pride is to see myself
as more than I am. See Chapter 13, "The Bad Part Of You," for more on pride.
Why Do We See Ourselves As Worms?
Let me try to explain why so many of us feel badly about ourselves. For
some of us, we got constant messages from our parents that we weren't
worth much. Most importantly, our parents did not give us messages that
confirm the truth about our worth and our Treasure Inside - we were victims
of Type A Trauma. You may remember that destroying our sense of being
loveable and worthwhile is exactly what Type A Trauma does. Type A
Trauma is epidemic, and to some degree it is probably universal.
Other Voices
Our siblings likely also gave us these same messages that did not confirm
our worth. Since they were raised in the same home, they also suffered from
Type A Trauma. In such a home there is competition for the few crumbs of
The Blessing which are available in the family. Each child is trying to raise
himself above the others, because if he can feel superior to another child, he
won’t feel so badly about himself at that moment.
My Sister's Voice
I have an older sister who was also very wounded by Type A Trauma. She
was three years older than I, was a brilliant student, and was much larger
than I was. When I was growing up she would set traps for me and play
tricks on me to prove how much better she was, and she used to beat me up
and take my stuff. She used to make fun of me, and called me “Shrimpo,"
because for much of our time growing up I only came up to her shoulder.
She did all of these things to make herself feel a little better about herself, and
what she said and did tore me down even further. Her message just added to
my already fragile self-image.
Our Culture's Voice
Our culture also tells us how unworthy we are. The other children are doing
the same thing as our siblings – competing for the crumbs of blessing that
are available. Our culture is obsessed with being Number One, and
competing to be Number One is seen as a wonderful thing! Since by
definition there can only be one Number One, that makes the rest of us
“losers." And those who are Number One in football are probably not
Number One in math, or art, or perhaps anything except athletics. Thus they
too are “losers." Therefore we are all losers, and most of us feel that way
about ourselves. It is a cultural sickness, and is beautifully described as
such by Alfie Kohn in his book, "No Contest".
Interestingly, when we compare ourselves with others, the areas where we
aren’t as good as the others are what impact us. Ironically, when we become
Number One at something, it seems hollow. The good feeling of having
achieved this victory is fleeting, and we still feel badly about ourselves,
because we focus on those areas where we fall short. God is clear about
this: But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing
themselves among themselves, are not wise (2 Corinthians 10:12, KJV).
The Church's Voice
The Church has also tended to focus on the bad, giving us the impression
that there is nothing good that dwells in us. One scripture presented in
support of this is Romans 7:18:
- For I know that in me (that is in my flesh) nothing good dwells.
It is in my flesh only that nothing good dwells, and these teachers assume
this refers to all of my natural being. But flesh (Greek sarx) is another fuzzy
Greek word. A detailed study reveals that my flesh, as referred to in this
scripture, is only a part of me, not all of my being. Read Chapter 13, “The Bad
Part Of You” for more on this. Jeremiah Chapter 17 is often raised as proof
that nothing good dwells in me. Again, we are faced with a fuzzy word, the
Hebrew word leb. There is significant doubt that Jeremiah is referring to our
entire inner man.
Further evidence we see of our own awfulness is that we are not living up to
the standards laid out for us by the church. Deep inside we know we are
falling short, and we feel that others are more successful as Christians. I
then think, "I am surely bad."
We Believe All These Voices
So we believed all these voices that surrounded our formative years.
Certainly, we think, they can’t all be wrong. From all of this we receive our
identity. We see ourselves as bad. But these voices are all wrong. God
sees us differently, and He is always right.
How Can We See Ourselves As God Sees Us?
Many other teachers and authors have made lists of scriptures that tell us
how much God loves us, how valuable we are in His sight, how we are His
children, etc. They encourage us to meditate on this list, with the implication
that this exercise will convince us of who we really are. While it is very
important to know how God feels about us, meditating on such a list (with
our head) will not change how we feel about ourselves.
Those of you that have tried this know how ineffective, frustrating, and
discouraging this is. In our head we know how God see us, but the
messages fail to make the journey to our heart. Our feelings don’t change.
Then how can you change how you feel about yourself?
This Book Is Intended To Show You How
That is what this book is intended to show you. If you read the book and
walk it out, you will begin to see yourself as God sees you, because the living
God will show you. As you begin to feel His love, the lies about how bad you
are will be washed away. Remember that judging yourself causes the wound
which triggers the Big Hurt, and this happens because this bitter root is so
contrary to how God intended for you to see yourself.
Summary
The purpose of this chapter has been to help you recognize some
misconceptions about how bad you are.
There is a part of you that was corrupted by The Fall, but this corrupted part
is not all of who you are. There is a part of you that is made in the image of
God. It is "you," it is good, and it still exists in you. God says so in His Word.
This is true whether you believe it or not.
A key part of your sanctification process (Inner Healing) is a complete
change of attitude towards who you are. There is buried treasure inside
you (Read Chapter 9). You need to come to know that this is true before you
can possibly be reconciled with yourself and have harmony inside. After all,
who would want to love and be best friends with something evil?
For you to be sanctified (changed into the image of Jesus), all that is "you"
does not have to die. You are not rotten to the core. God does not
intend to annihilate you and replace you with Jesus.
The last chapter posted on this website describes in detail why it is so
important to see ourselves as God does, and to love ourselves (our Treasure
Inside) as he does.
Click here to go to Chapter 18, "Love, An Essential Ingredient."
The Rest Of The Story
Now that you have read a number of key chapters in "I Will Give You Rest," I
hope that you have discovered some valuable insights for yourself.
As I have said before, there is much more in the book.
You have read less than one half of what the book contains. What has not
been included online are several additional very important concepts that you
need to understand, as well as detailed biblical support for the whole
book. I am adamant that anything I say needs to be supported by the Bible.
It would be a huge benefit to you to buy the print version of the whole book.
That way you will have all the information, and you can have the information
readily accessible by your side.
You can buy the book by clicking here (or in the list on the top left side of
the page).
There are discounted prices for multiple books, as well as when the book is
to be used in ministerial situations (Bible study groups, counseling, etc.). For
this, click on the "Buy Multiple Books" link on the top left of this page.
Unconditional Guarantee
If you buy the book, and the rest of it does not bless you; you can return it
for a full refund.
Putting This In Perspective
One alternative is to now do nothing, to simply go on living as you have
been, and to continue to struggle in the same ways you have. Since you
have been motivated to read these 6 chapters, I suspect that doing nothing is
not your top choice.
Psychotherapy is another option. However, it is expensive (costs
between $70 and $150 per hour, and it usually takes a large number of
sessions), and it does not come with a money back guarantee. Besides,
psychotherapy doesn't work. You may already know that.
Your best choice is to learn how Jesus provided for your healing,
and then engage in His process. You can do this by buying the book. At a
one time cost of $21, it costs about the same as one 15 minute
psychotherapy session. And if the book doesn't work, you can get your
money back!
We want everyone to experience the freedom Jesus promised!
If you can not afford to buy a copy, e-mail us your situation and we will
consider sending you a free copy.
Why The Book Isn't All Free
There are several reasons why we have not included the whole book on our
website.
Some reasons are technical. For example, the book itself has many
footnotes, which are supplied to support and enrich what is said in the main
body of text. Unfortunately, the footnote feature of Microsoft Word is not
supported by our website development software, and so that rich additional
information is missing from what you have read.
Another reason is financial. This is a ministry, and revenue from the book
helps support this website and our other outreaches.
Consider Making A Donation
We believe that all Christians desperately need the message of Christ's
healing ways described in this book.
If the posting of these chapters on the web has blessed you, we
would like you to consider making a donation to this ministry,
so that others can also be set free.
Click here to make a donation. Click on the "Make A Donation" button, and
then enter the amount you wish to contribute.
Copyright 2003 Edward Kurath
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