How Grace Changes My View of Me

"Over the years, the growing consciousness of radical grace has wrought profound changes in my self-awareness.  Justification by grace through faith means that I know myself accepted by God as I am.  When my head is enlightened and my heart is pierced by this truth, I can accept myself as I am.  Genuine self-acceptance is not derived from the power of positive thinking, mind-games, or pop psychology.  It is an act of faith in the God of grace.

"Several times in my ministry people have expressed the fear that self-acceptance will abort the ongoing conversion process and lead to a life of spiritual laziness and moral laxity.  Nothing could be more untrue.  The acceptance of self does not mean to be resigned to the status quo.  On the contrary, the more fully we accept ourselves, the more successfully we begin to grow.  Love is a far better stimulus than threat or pressure.

"One saint used to say that she was the type of woman who advances more rapidly when she is drawn by love than when driven by fear.  She was perceptive enough to know that we are all that type of person.  It is possible to attain great holiness of life while still being prone to pettiness and insincerity, sensuality and envy, but the first move will always be to recognize that I am that way.  In terms of spiritual growth the faith-conviction that God accepts me as I am is a tremendous help to become better.

"When we accept ourselves for what we are, we decrease our hunger for power or the acceptance of others because our self-intimacy reinforces our inner sense of security.  We are no longer preoccupied with being powerful or popular.  We no longer fear criticism because we accept the reality of our human limitations.  Once integrated, we are less often plagued with the desire to please others because simply being true to ourselves brings lasting peace.  We are grateful for life and we deeply appreciate and love ourselves."

from The Ragamuffin Gospel, by Brennan Manning