The Secret in John 17:22: Why Your Mistakes Don't Limit You

Jesus knew how Satan had been abusing man for thousands of years. He saw our confusion, our pain, our brokenness. He knew that when we restored his sons and daughters, we would still have to deal with the wounds, the deceptions, the guilt and the shame of our past. And he knew that we wouldn't be perfect.

He knew we would sin, and we had to deal with that. So, praying aloud so the disciples could hear, Jesus prayed. I've given the worth, the glory that you, Father, gave me to them. John 17, verse 22. Wait a minute. Jesus took the glory that God gave to him and gave it to us.

You have the glory of God. I have the glory of God. The same glory that God gave to Jesus. Yes. This is the key that will set you free from your emotional wounds, from guilt, shame, and all the lies Satan uses to keep you from living life fully as a son or daughter of God.

Jesus gave you the inherent intrinsic worth that God gave him. Jesus gave you his glory. Just as a gold ring has great value because it's made of gold, you have tremendous value, more than you could ever imagine or even begin to grasp, because Jesus gave you the glory that God gave him.

You carry the glory of God in you. It doesn't matter what you've done in the past, it doesn't matter what failures you're facing today. It doesn't matter if you make a train wreck of your life in the future. You believers still have the glory of God. The incredible, amazing, beyond words to express worth, the perfection, the goodness of God in you.

But you say, but I do things that aren't good. I understand. And God understands too. Your life has been joined with Christ, and it's no longer your performance that God looks at. It's Christ's. Galatians 2:20. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me and the life I now live in the flesh.

I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. When God looks at you, he no longer sees your failures, your inadequacies and your shameful past. He sees Jesus perfect righteousness, Jesus goodness, Jesus glory.