Season 10: Episode 111 - The Four Relationships - Relationship with Self
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Relationship with yourself
These questions can help you become response-able for yourself:
What kind of person am I?
Who knows me?
Who do I love, and how vulnerably do I love?
Am I emotionally and spiritually genuine with God and a few others?
Do I use my mind to articulate the truths of my own heart?
Can I seek forgiveness, offer mercy, and forgive?
Christianity is truly a religion of growth. Jesus said, “The thief come only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10, NIV)
Christianity is a religion of living fully. This is unlike other religions in the world:
Jesus refers to Himself as a “Good Shepherd” in John 10.
Jesus will lead us and grow us into becoming shepherds, ourselves.
Through Jesus we give our hands, heads, and hearts to a “mission” that is worth whatever is required to live fully.
Through the Spirit of God that indwells Christians, we can live fully through loving fully and leading well. This life leaves plenty of fruit behind.
Relationship with one’s self refers to the connection between the “heart” and “head.”
Sadly, many of us are taught to defend ourselves rather than become ourselves.
We use our thinking and reactions to hide the truth of our feelings, needs, desire, longings, and hope, rather than use the development of our minds to identify, explore, and express “truth in the inner parts . . . wisdom in the inmost place,” (Psalm 51:6, NIV)
We are created to live fully, but to do so, we must feed the roots, so that the fruits can grow in abundance.
Our fruit is an expression of glorifying God who made us, how He designed us, and what He designed us to express.
Jesus called us to be dependent. He was daily and hourly dependent upon His Father. We are called to return to the heart and bring the truth of our makeup to Him to be fully connected in relationship of love and growth.
In Matthew 18:2-3 (NIV), Jesus says:
I tell you the truth, ‘unless you change and become like little children,
you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child
is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’
We are called to dispense with and diminish the shell of our own egos, that which eases God out (e.g.o.), and release who God made us to become—fully alive SELF, who can love another and lead with love.
Interestingly, the most recent neuroscience conclusions point to relationship with self as a significant marker of high IQ. The ability of self-awareness, to be able to know your own thoughts and identify, explore, and express their origins is an expression of intelligence.
Self-awareness ultimately is being able to use your mind to articulate the experiences and truth of your own heart, and to be able to treat others as you would have them treat you.
We really are emotional and spiritual creatures. We are created to do one thing in this life: to live fully.
However, we can only do so through relationship, starting with being able to connect to my own feelings, needs, desire, longings and hope.
We will never escape being dependent creatures, in need of God, who is the Maker of the universe and created us to be in relationship with Him, starting with our hearts.
Dr. Chip Dodd
Voice of the Heart Center
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