“In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female, and blessed them…” (Gen. 5: 1-2).
Each of us is made in the image of God, and each unique. Abuse can bury that knowledge, along with our hopes and dreams. We can lose ourselves – can feel so downtrodden, so crushed, that we believe we are worthless. But that is a lie.
The challenge for abuse victims is to find ourselves again. To find ourselves and reclaim our lives.
A song like Kelsea Ballerini’s “Miss Me More” may lift our spirits (a step in the right direction). Even high heels and red lipstick may help. Scripture, however, serves as a more reliable guide.
Accepted
“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God” (Rom. 15: 7 NIV).
In Christ, we are accepted. After a lifetime of rejection, this is an astonishing experience.
Loved
“…just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself…” (Eph. 1: 4-5).
In Christ, we are God’s beloved children, members of His own family, selected from the beginning of the world. Continue reading