Hey Mr Fish,

I think the journey towards self-acceptance is the most significant one I am on.

It is a great challenge to me as a Christian to find a balance between self-acceptance and what is required in Biblical self-sacrifce and putting off the sinful nature.

If I believe as a Christian that there are parts of me that are rebelious and dissobedient to God and that need to be overcome for the well being of myself and others, then I have to be very careful how I "accept" those parts of myself. The foundation of my self-acceptance is that Jesus has given Himself for me and loves me. It is not that I am a fundamentally good person.

I know I am accepted in Christ. For me it is more a journey of what is acceptable to God in my behaviour now that I'm accepted by Him as a person. As challenging as this journey is, I know that I am not called to a life of condemnation and self-persecution, but to peace. If I'm not living in peace (and you know I haven't been) then I'm missing something that God is trying to tell me. The question is, is what I'm missing something that I need to accept, or something I need to clean up and overcome? There is the challenge.

Blessings
Cat.