The truth that we were created by love and in the image of God is a glorious truth. The truth that every aspect of the human personality has been distorted as the result of the Fall is an unpleasant truth. However, indifference or ignorance concerning the true condition of one’s soul is to live with a serious delusion. “I am a good person” “I like to help others” “I believe in God” are statements people make to relieve anxiety and guilt while still clinging to self-sufficiency and pride.
We like to hold on very tightly to beliefs, perceptions, desires… that seem right to us and suit our independent life-style. Proverbs 14-12 says - There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. Years ago, James 2:20 hit me hard -You believe in God, you do well; the demons also believe and tremble.
Recently, reading Surprised by Joy, the biography of C.S. Lewis, I came across George Macdonald’s frightening quote -The principle of hell is – “I am my own”. With eloquent and brutal honesty, Lewis exposes the pride and rebellion of his soul. Before his conversion, he treasured many idols and with passion disliked the notion of a God who might interfere with his heart’s desires. Lewis records…I had always wanted, above all things, not to be “interfered with”. I had wanted (mad wish) “to call my soul my own.”
The natural human heart dislikes God’s activity in our life, has no desire for God or the things of God. We all have “gone astray” (Isaiah 53:6). According to Jeremiah 17-9 the heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick…
Even after conversion we can remain attached to self and the world, dissatisfied, yet detached from God’s heart, His Word, and His people. We may believe in God and be active in Christian work without loving Him and others deeply. I need to be reminded that – the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love (Galatians 5:6).
In His mercy and grace, the Lord works in us so that we may experience Him as the Lover of our hearts and the Healer of our souls. He longs to own our hearts first, then, He gives us genuine love and power to engage in good deeds with Him and for His glory.
Do you not know…that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price…1 Cor. 6:19-20.
Thus says the Lord, your Creator…I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!
Isaiah 43-1
• Are you affected by the Lord’s passionate love for you?
• What would be the evidence that the Lord owns you?
About Maya
- Maya
- is a bi-lingual - English-Spanish Christian psychotherapist in private practice in Houston, Texas. For sixteen years, Maya has been counseling individuals, couples, and families seeking answers for personal and interpersonal conflicts. Maya is committed to help her clients focus not only on behavioral modification but character growth. Maya wrote her own book-workbook “Letters from your Father God” in English and Spanish to walk clients through a practical process of mental, emotional, and spiritual maturity. Maya is originally from Ecuador, South America. She graduated from the Catholic University in Quito-Ecuador. She completed all the State of Texas requirements to obtain her license as a LCSW (Licensed clinical Social Worker). She is also a certified TRT (Trauma Resolution Therapist). Maya lives with Tom, her husband of over thirty years. They have a married daughter and two grandchildren.