What are those?

I grew up when shoe culture was just beginning to arrive in modern day society. I remember when I got my first pair of Jordan sneakers, my first cool pair of Reeboks. I even remember when I got my first Nike Huarache sneakers.

What made these special was that I got them before everyone else. Boy oh boy do I remember the compliments, the swagger, the confidence that exuded from me. I remember feeling different. Even though my style, my clothes, and my tiny chest hairs (I was in the 8th grade, I didn’t have much going on) were all the same, I felt so good.

What was fascinating was how I projected those feelings of myself unto other people. I was funnier, smarter, even quicker on my feet (both literally and figuratively). It’s funny how something so small had such a huge effect on my relationship with others.

The same goes for God. We often times are projecting what we feel about ourselves towards God. “If I am not good enough, why would He love me”. “I am not smart enough to be used by Him.” “Why would He die for someone like me?” And that is the tip of the iceberg of how we project our feelings and insecurities unto Yahweh. Here is the thing, I want to treat people and God the same way I treated people when I got my new shoes. The question is why don’t I? What holds me back? The answer: self-esteem. And even more specifically, my spiritual self-esteem. This Sabbath I will be attacking the difference between how God sees us, and how we see ourselves. Join us to learn how to put on the “new shoes” of grace.

Connected to the Vine,

Pastor Victor Reina