“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Cor. 5:17 NKJV).
Shame focuses on perceived defects about us. Thoughts like: I don’t matter, I’m not good enough, worthless, invisible, awful, useless or a mistake. Guilt zooms in on our actions, what we do or did, shame on our identity, who we are. We are new creations in Christ, loved and accepted; loved, not rejected. As we know we are a new creation in the Lord, we walk free from shame.
Before we were born again, we experienced shame because we were lost. Traumatic events in our lives increased our perception of unworthiness. Shame comes with a desire to hide or disappear. When Adam and Eve fell into sin, they hid themselves. It’s only when we are hidden in Christ that we truly come out of our hiding places. We are restored and safe in Him. We are free from the old; all things have become new!
It’s our whole being that has been forgiven. We are accepted in the beloved. We have been made righteous in Him. When the old things that have passed away try to rise in our lives, let’s walk forward as new, in the new, from glory to glory!