"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."What is interesting about this is how she captures the reality of our false humility. We call it consideration, when in fact it is self serving. I'm not saying that we should err to the point of egotistical pride, but Spirit filled believers have something more than talent, we have the power of God, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, in us, and we shrink away from stepping out into a world that desperatly needs us to be most fully who we are. But we're afraid. That's not love, that self preservation. That's not community that individuality.
Recently, I've been ready a lot about the writings and work of John Wesley. There's a long theological discussion about sanctification being the regeneration of imago Dei. I have to admit that I like this thought. It's a kind of return to perfect love and perfect relationship. If I was created for love and the nature of sin is to turn that inward towards myself, there's a lot of hope in believing that God truly desires to recreate me to the person that He intends for me to be, fully capable of truly loving others. I don't need to hide that, or apologize for it, even when it makes someone else a bit (or completely) uncomfortable. What would be good is for me to be completely secure in the creation, and more importantly the re-creation of me, so that I might be an attractive example to others.
Marianne might not have her mix right, but there is more than a kernel of truth the way I read her observation. Go ahead, let yourself become who He's created you to be. We'll be thanking you for it as we walk around in the freedom to truly love! Go ahead, light your world!
