Through the Looking Glass and Back – Your Passport to Identity

By Susan G. Bondow and Paul Kelm

Why don’t I always like myself? Am I really worth anything to anyone? Why do I put on a front, covering up my true feelings? Why is it so important to convince people I’m something that I’m not? These are common questions that people ask. These are common questions that people want answered.

Our society does give an answer to all these questions. Secular psychologists will tell you that a person’s guilt, anxiety, shame, lack of worth—all can be traced back to low self-esteem. Since psychologists identify low self-esteem as the cause for so many unwanted thoughts and feelings, the cure prescribed is simple—develop methods that will boost your self-esteem.

But is low self-esteem really the cause for so many of the bad thoughts and feelings we have? God begs to differ. In the Bible, the Lord God tells us the cause of the guilt, shame, anxiety, and lack of worth we feel. The cause is sin. Since sin is the cause, the cure prescribed by our Father in heaven is simple—Jesus.

In the book, Through the Looking Glass and Back, Susan Bondow and Paul Kelm discuss the feelings that affect our identity and self-worth from a Christian point of view. Bondow and Kelm share what God says about your identity in Christ Jesus.

The authors remind us that a healthy, God-pleasing perspective about ourselves comes through Jesus.

In Christ we are a “new creation,” empowered to grow into the identity Christ has given us. Through God’s Word, the Holy Spirit transforms us. Change in us is “inside out” as God convinces us of who we are in Christ. Not “living up to” requirements, but “living out” our identity in Christ describes the Christian’s life. (pgs. 66-67)

This book is a must read for any Christian who has ever struggled with feelings of unworthiness, shame, or guilt.