Episode 36: Identity - You Are Loved and Accepted
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PODCAST NOTES
Title: Identity - You are Loved and Accepted
Hosts: Milo Curtis and Olivia Curtis
Download the Companion Notes PDF
INTRODUCTION
In this second installment of a four-part series, Milo and Olivia delve into the importance of knowing we are loved and accepted by God. Their discussion reinforces the importance of spiritual identity over shallow substitutes, like toxic relationships, compulsive dating, and people pleasing.
I am dearly loved
…so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. - Ephesians 3:17-19
The Shallow Substitute: Entering Toxic Relationships
Staying in or pursuing relationships that are harmful, abusive, or dysfunctional due to a fear of being alone.I am reunited with God
But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. - 1 Corinthians 6:17
The Shallow Substitute: Compulsive Dating
Engaging in a series of quick, superficial relationships to fill emotional voids rather than seeking meaningful connections.I am secure in Him and His love
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? - Romans 8:35
The Shallow Substitute: People Pleasing
Constantly trying to please others at the expense of their own needs and desires, often leading to resentment and burnout.I am sealed by the Holy Spirit
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, - Ephesians 1:13
The Shallow Substitute: Seeking Validation
Relying on compliments, likes, comments, and followers for self-esteem, which can create anxiety and a distorted sense of self-worth.I have access to God through prayer
…let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. - Hebrews 10:22
The Shallow Substitute: Overlooking Red Flags
Ignoring warning signs of unhealthy dynamics in pursuit of acceptance, leading to prolonged relationship issues.I am a valuable member of the body
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. - 1 Corinthians 12:12-13
The Shallow Substitute: Manipulation or Deception
Using manipulative tactics to gain love or acceptance, which can backfire and damage trust in relationshipsI belong to the Lord
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. - 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
The Shallow Substitute: Codependency
Relying on another person for emotional support and validation to the extent that it undermines one’s own independence and self-worth.
This list is adapted from the book Draw Close to the Fire by Terry Wardle
CONTACT US at hello@thisresilientsoul.com. We are always looking for ways to deepen the quality and expand the impact of this podcast. So if you have some ideas on how we can do that we welcome your input.
Theme Music: Love Poem by Soyb