Loved, Beautiful, Gifted

<p>Malcolm appeared confident as a teenager. But this confidence was a mask. In truth, a turbulent home left him fearful, desperate for approval, and feeling falsely responsible for his family&rsquo;s problems. &ldquo;For as far back as I remember,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;every morning I would go into the bathroom, look in the mirror, and say out loud to myself, &lsquo;You are stupid, you are ugly, and it&rsquo;s your fault.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p> <p>Malcolm&rsquo;s self-loathing continued until he was twenty-one, when he had a divine revelation of his Christian identity. &ldquo;I realized that God loved me unconditionally and nothing would ever change that,&rdquo; he recalls. &ldquo;I could never embarrass God, and He would never reject me.&rdquo; In time, Malcolm looked in the mirror and spoke to himself differently. &ldquo;You are loved, you are beautiful, you are gifted,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;and it&rsquo;s not your fault.&rdquo;</p> <p>Malcolm&rsquo;s experience illustrates what God&rsquo;s Spirit does for the believer in Jesus&mdash;He frees us from fear by revealing how profoundly loved we are (Romans 8:15, 38&ndash;39), and confirms that we are children of God with all the benefits that status brings (8:16&ndash;17; 12:6&ndash;8). As a result, we can begin seeing ourselves correctly by having our thinking renewed (12:2&ndash;3).</p> <p>Years later, Malcolm still whispers those words each day, reinforcing who God says he is. In the Father&rsquo;s eyes he is loved, beautiful, and gifted. And so are we.</p>