I’ve been thinking about guilt and shame since last time.
Guilt’s about something I’ve done wrong. Until I deal with it, the guilt remains.
Problem is, often we’re hanging on to stuff we’re afraid might be unforgivable. So we try to ignore it, but we end up circling and circling.
The very worst kind of guilt happens when we’re afraid we’ve done something so awful even God can’t forgive. There is no such thing, of course – easy for me to say.
Today, I’d like to explore the notion of shame, the idea that something is wrong with me. In Genesis 3, after they disobeyed God, they realized they were naked and hurried to cover themselves. Did they feel guilty, or ashamed?
Probably both, but I suspect it was mostly shame. They knew something was different. I think these people, created to walk in the garden beside God himself, suddenly understood they had broken something fundamental within themselves.
Their self-consciousness symbolized a shame that hadn’t existed before.
Their shame became part of every human’s circumstance – until Jesus. His sacrifice ensured our release from that original shame.
I wonder how many of us claim to follow Jesus, but haven’t quite claimed the freedom that goes with it. How many of us, if we’re honest, still somehow feel like we need to do something a little extra to earn the right to open the prison door?
I’m thinking about you and me and our kids and The FREEDOM TOUR community. Last time I said I couldn’t imagine what it’s like for one of our kids to learn early on that they’re broken and not worthy of love. Someone pointed out to me that happens to lots of people, and it’s not limited to trafficking victims.
There’s hope, of course. There’s restoration. Jesus does that.