Perception
Have you ever been looking at something and didn’t understand what you were seeing? It didn’t seem to make sense, then realized your perception was off?
Sometimes this happens in life.
When Jesus was ministering to the people in His day, He knew who He was. As He was tempted in the desert by the enemy, He was challenged in His calling and identity through the enemy’s words, “If you are the Son of God…”
The message to Jesus was, “then prove it.” As Jesus ministered to the people, He was limited in what He could do by the unbelief of those around Him.
Scripture says that there were places where Jesus “could do no mighty works” because of the people’s unbelief. This happened regarding others’ perception of Jesus and Who He was and is.
He stated, “A prophet isn’t without honor except in his hometown and among his relatives and his own household” (Matthew 6:4).
We can encounter this also. However, Jesus didn’t allow the lens through which others were looking at Him to affect how He saw Himself.
He was able to keep an internal boundary and the critical separateness that comes with it. He was able to keep His opinion and perception of Himself clear and untainted from those who lacked faith in Him for whatever reason.
He knew that it was about their heart, or lens they were seeing Him through, and not His worth and value.
Don’t let the view through the lens of other people affect how you see yourself. If it doesn’t agree with what God says about you in the Word, through what Christ has accomplished for us, then it’s an inaccurate view.
I’m not saying that we shouldn’t accept constructive criticism; however, the source and motive should be considered.
If it doesn’t ring true, it can be left with the person who has that perception. After all, it belongs to them.