What You Should Know About "Should"

I listened to a message by Brennan Manning tonight on Youtube: "Healing Our Image of God and Ourselves."  I highly recommend it.  He spoke of someone who said, "Don't should on yourself!"  I'm guilty of that.  My whole life I've been shoulding on myself.  Manning said that a person who keeps saying "I should do better, I should know better" etc. is a person who doesn't have a very good image of themselves.  The shouldness could be related to our image of God.  The God of "doing" and not the God of "being."  God didn't make us so we can feel guilty.  He made us so we can experience His total acceptance of ourselves with our weaknesses through His unconditional love.  God loves me right where I am, not where I should be because I will never be where or what I should be.  I am a work in progress and thankfully He posts a sign about me that says, "Work in Progress."  Thankfully He does leave the construction site; He stays with me until the job is done (which basically means He will never leave me).

Manning also said: "Healing the image of God heals the image of myself."  If we have a God who is constantly demanding that we always do things right and slaps our hands when we mess us, then we will treat ourselves in the same way.  If my image of God is healed, then my self-image can be transformed into His image.

Manning shared about the total lack of love and affection from his mother.  She saw herself through her image of God.  The most difficult and damaging relationship of my life was with my father.  After my mother died he said to me, "I don't ever want to mess with you again!"  Those were the last words I heard him speak.  He had separated himself from us,with the help of another family member.  I have since forgiven him but those words will ring in my ears all the days of my life, "I don't ever want to mess with you again!"

I will never hear from my Heavenly Father those words of rejection.  As a matter of fact, He has said He will never leave and His love is unconditional.

I am just a Ragamuffin created in the image of God.  I don't know why He bothers with me but I am so glad He does.  He is healing me back to accept myself, even with my shortcomings.  And He will heal you if you seek him half as much as He seeks you.