TRUE TO YOURSELF

Posted on Feb.8,2011 @ focusontheheart.org
"hope for the heart" page

What do you think about yourself and what makes you think it's true?

But Jesus said, "Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven." ~Matthew 19:14

I'd like for you to open your minds up to a thought process that has been studied for many years. Growing up we may have been told that children are to be seen and not heard or to sit down and be quiet. Then when we brought our report cards home that reflected that we had a real problem with public speaking, our parents told us to be courageous; stand up and speak out! It is these mixed messages that have caused many children to grow up with the mixed messages about themselves that have virtually held them back in every area of their life.
We find ourselves in the trap of thinking,"I believe I must be this way in order to survive." This is basically the results of past programming. Moreover, "I hate myself for feeling the way I do." Even as an adult, we create our own report cards as we compare the things we own, who we think we are and our successes to everyone else. This actually becomes a factual reality in our minds to determine our belief in ourselves; good and bad! The problem is that this isn't anywhere close to being true to reality or yourself, especially when we consider the great truths concerning what Jesus said to His disciples about the children and people.
We'll grade ourselves on what we've accomplished compared to our neighbor.....C+; what we own compared to our coworkers.....A-; who we've become compared to others with the same education....D. That is when we begin to hear the whispers of those voices that remind us, "Won't I ever learn? Why do I feel this way? You should have known better? Why do I always mess up?". That's our very own self-judgment accounting system. It keeps us thinking about what should have been or how I should have known better. Living in the past causes us to develope beliefs about ourselves and has a huge impact on our future decisions.
With the very high divorce rate in our society today, some children say that they will never get married because their parents divorced. It is the experience of the pain and feeling of guilt that has cause these children to believe that it is a mistake to get married. They don't believe that they will be able to have a lasting relationship based on this feeling. As soon as we hold some false idea about ourselves rather relying on a direct perception of what's really happening, we inevitably give rise to anxiety and fear. We create suffering of our own through the repetition of our confusion. It's like pushing a wheelbarrow with a flat tire. It rolls, but a little rough and slow. We keep thinking that something is wrong, but not sure what's causing the bump.
That explains why the disciples were so sure that Jesus had not wanted the children in the way that day when they began to tell the parents who had brought their children to take them back. See, we often even think we are doing right when we act based on our beliefs that were developed according to our experiences and traditions growing up. The fact is that Jesus had the divine ability to understand the needs of every child that day! Don't you think that the disciples learned something new that day as well? We all need to be willing to learn; to keep our minds open to the reality of the truth rather than living our life based on the things that we have been told about ourselves. Jesus wants us to put aside the past experiences and come to Him as a child again. By the way, this was so important for us to remember that Mark and Luke also give an account of this day in history so that we could be enlightened thousands of years later. (Mark 10:14, Luke 18:16) Doesn't it only make sense that Jesus addressed His followers as children as He was ascending into Heaven? I believe it is a fact that we are to be known as His children and Jesus gave us a commandment that we can trust will never leave us feeling like a failure or comparing ourselves to others. Be His child, open your mind to the truth about yourself and your children starting today! Learn to be really TRUE to yourself!

"Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you. 34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. " ~ John 13:33