Who's Approval Do You Think You Need?
Every one of us is made in Divine image and likeness each with a unique role to play as we express Godself in our world.
But many folks (including us, if we're honest) don't feel or know this to be true.
And if we don't know it, we certainly won't know how to live it.
So we spin our wheels chasing all of life's surface distractions and are left with an underlying feeling that we have missed the point of existence.
And it's sadly accurate; Many of us have missed the point.
When we aren't living in tune with the Infinite and expressing the truth of our Divine design we allow the voices of others to define us and their opinions to drive us.
We give our power away to people out of fear and insecurity.
To put it in some old school terms, we have “sinned”.
The true definition of “sin” is simply to “miss the mark”
- like an archer misses his target.
Contrary to modern religious thought (that has evolved from the original meaning) “sin” is not necessarily synonymous with behavior.
Sure, our actions can be an outcome or result of missing the point,
but it’s deeper than that.
To miss the mark is a matter of our Being.
Missing the point has to do with the truth of who we are;
Our true identity.
And many of us have rationalized and normalized the “sin” of needing identity approval.
We seem to incessantly look for outside validation.
We become paralyzed by insecurity and the need for acceptance.
And by doing so we stunt what God is stirring in us because we fear what our peers and perceived authorities may think or say.
Well, I have a secret (hidden in plain sight) that will be hard to accept at first
but it will unlock so much for you,
it did for me:
WE create this fear.
WE create the power of perceived authorities and gatekeepers.
WE create the rigid boundaries we think we have to stay in to be accepted.
And it takes a level of tenacity and courage
to know who you are
and live out that truth
beyond any acceptance
from anyone or any group
that you think you need approval from
outside of the Source.
Sound too woo woo?
Well, just think:
If Jesus would’ve stayed within his religious and cultural boundaries we would not have a religion in his name today…
Rather,
Jesus embodied the fullness of his Christ (anointed) identity and listened to the Father’s voice of approval from within himself instead of the voices of those around him.
My encouragement to you is that if you feel as if you’re missing the mark,
missing the point of life,
missing true meaning…
it may be due to an obsession with validation and external approval.
A need (that is sometimes unconscious) to be accepted by a person, particular group or perceived authority figure
(which is normal, by the way, but you don't have to stay there).
The invitation today is that you would, in Jesus’ example, go within and listen to the Voice who affirms your True Being.
And from that inner place of Knowing become empowered by the Spirit to live courageously and boldly.
This is an invitation to be liberated to live without the fear of who may or may not approve of you
because you now have an awareness of truth from deep within:
You’re already approved.
And when you know you’re approved
and you know who you are
and you live from THAT place of confidence,
you become a force to be reckoned with;
A powerful participant in all that God has called you to be and do (in that order).
Be blessed, friends!
- Luke
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