You can find the audio for this transcript over on Spotify.
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You Are Worthy Of Love
You are worthy of love.
Our conservative subculture worked so hard so that we wouldn’t and couldn’t know just how worthy of love we are. They told us that we were desperately wicked. They told us that we deserved to die, not just a physical death but a spiritual one too. They told us there was no good in us. And if that weren’t enough? They told us that if we wanted to be good Christians, we had to literally hate ourselves.
It was all lies.
They wanted to blind us to the image of God that resides in each of us. Because if we knew just how beautiful we are, how deeply loved by God we each are? We would walk away from a toxic world that tried to tear us down and taught us to tear one another down too.
Do you know what I learned the other day? In Genesis, when God created humanity, They said, “Let us make man – or Adam, which means humanity- in our image” it was a direct reference to the culture of the day. When statues or idols were created, they were thought to be direct representations of the god they mirrored. The statues were thought to somehow carry the presence of God, so that when believers worshipped these statues, it was the same as worshipping their god.
This is you and me and all of us. We are direct representations of God in this world.
We are holy and good and worthy of love because we are created by and in the image of God. And if God is good and holy and worthy of love, we are too.
If anyone dares to tell you that you are somehow unworthy, you can know they are wrong. They do not know what it means to be an image-bearer of the Living God.
You are free.
You are loved.
You will always be loved. There is not a damn thing that you can do or be that will ever make it impossible for God to love you and call you Their child.
Meditation
Each episode will contain a moment of meditation. For some people this is helpful to center their minds and ground their bodies and to internalize messages. For others, meditation can be a challenge or even triggering. Wherever you find yourself, please remember to listen to your body.
Here we go.
Take a moment to settle your body and find a comfortable position
Place your hand on your belly and focus on your breathing for a few moments. Notice how the air feels when you breathe in and as it travels down your throat and into your lungs. Notice the rise and fall of your belly with each breath.
Stay here for a few breaths.
Breathe In: I am loved
Breathe Out: I am held
Breathe In: I am loved
Breathe Out: I am held
When you are ready, open your eyes and come back to the room
Musical Affirmation Intro
Today’s musical affirmation comes from the movie, “The Greatest Showman.” Sung by the amazing Keala Settle, “This is Me” is a powerful anthem to self-love.
The lyrics resonate especially deeply when taken in the light of what we are discussing today.
Words have spoken over us within our families, communities, and churches that tell us that we are not worthy of love due to our sinful or depraved nature, and these words cut us. Sometimes these cuts are so subtle we didn’t even notice it, but these messages do injury to our souls everytime we hear them. But, like Settle sings:
“When the sharpest words wanna cut me down
I’m gonna send a flood, gonna drown ’em out
I am brave, I am bruised
I am who I’m meant to be, this is me”
We will no longer let these messages have power over us. We know the truth. We know that we are powerful people who carry the very image of God within us. We are worthy of good things. We are worthy of love. We will not settle for less. We will not allow lies to settle beneath our skin anymore.
We make no apologies. This is us.
I hope you enjoy today’s musical affirmation.
conclusion
Thank you so much for being here today. Take care of yourself in the coming days, and I’ll see you back here again next week.
Shari A Smith 