The value of spiritually and psychologically healthy friends in my life when I'm freaking out on the inside = Wow. Their value in having me when they’re freaking out on the inside = Double Wow. We’re healthy because we bring our freak-out-times into the light, not because we ‘figured out’ how to keep our act together.
Our positive behavior is merely a symptom of living in the light with a few trusted others and a willingness to entertain new ways of thinking and living. These trusted others don’t think we’re weird or too tainted for approval. Their approval is based on who God declares us to be.
Our desire is never to minimize sin, but also to never treat one another as sinners. A person who understands Grace + Truth understands they = a Saint. Beginning with the transformation of their identity, the transformation of behavior can take place at its own pace. It can never happen the other way around.* The transformation starts from our core, the truth of our inner being.
Our value then, is placed on our identity, not our behavior. We are like currency that never looses its value, even during times of recession or depression. The percentage rate of our ‘Identity-based’ investment is astronomical. Our trusted others must remind us of this when we’re freaking out. They tell us we’re healthy because we’ve made an investment in trusting God and a few trusted others with who we really are. They tell us the truth, that God lives inside of us.
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*(i.e. better behavior first, never equals saint second)
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