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The Spiritual Journey #2
The Gift of Being Yourself: The Sacred Call to Self-Discovery
"Grant, Lord, that I may know myself that I may know thee." -Augustine
Much is said in Christian circles about knowing God. But Christians throughout the ages have agreed that there cannot be deep knowledge of God without deep knowledge of the self. Discerning your true self is inextricably related to discerning God's purposes for you. Paradoxically, the more you become like Christ, the more you become authentically yourself. In this profound exploration of Christian identity, psychologist and spiritual director David G. Benner illuminates the spirituality of self-discovery. He exposes the false selves that you may hide behind and calls you to discover the true self that emerges from your uniqueness in Christ. Freeing you from illusions about yourself, Benner shows that self-understanding leads to the fulfillment of your God-given destiny and vocation. "Christian spirituality," writes Benner, "involves a transformation of the self that occurs only when God and self are both deeply known." The self is not God, but it is the place where you meet God. Genuine self-knowledge revitalizes your spiritual life and opens the door to becoming who God has created you to be. Rest assured, you need not try to be someone you are not. But you will deepen your experience of God through discovering the gift of being yourself.
Much is said in Christian circles about knowing God. But Christians throughout the ages have agreed that there cannot be deep knowledge of God without deep knowledge of the self. Discerning your true self is inextricably related to discerning God's purposes for you. Paradoxically, the more you become like Christ, the more you become authentically yourself. In this profound exploration of Christian identity, psychologist and spiritual director David G. Benner illuminates the spirituality of self-discovery. He exposes the false selves that you may hide behind and calls you to discover the true self that emerges from your uniqueness in Christ. Freeing you from illusions about yourself, Benner shows that self-understanding leads to the fulfillment of your God-given destiny and vocation. "Christian spirituality," writes Benner, "involves a transformation of the self that occurs only when God and self are both deeply known." The self is not God, but it is the place where you meet God. Genuine self-knowledge revitalizes your spiritual life and opens the door to becoming who God has created you to be. Rest assured, you need not try to be someone you are not. But you will deepen your experience of God through discovering the gift of being yourself.
114 pages, Paperback
First published February 6, 2004
About the author
David G. Benner
42 books161 followersDavid G. Benner (PhD, York University; postdoctoral studies, Chicago Institute of Psychoanalysis) is an internationally known depth psychologist, author, spiritual guide, and personal transformation coach. He currently serves as Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Spirituality at the Psychological Studies Institute, Richmont Graduate University. He has authored or edited more than twenty books, including Soulful Spirituality and Strategic Pastoral Counseling
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 515 reviews
February 8, 2012
Those who grew up with me may remember peers who were trying to "find themselves", which usually involved painful introspection, psychedelic tripping, or hitting the road Jack Kerouac-style (or all three). David Benner's book is in some sense about finding our true selves. Benner argues that the knowledge of self and the knowledge of God walk together. The danger is, and especially for religious folk, that we craft a false self the usually reflects our own judgement of what others (or God) want us to be. Often this focuses on one aspect of our personality to which we give exaggerated attention.
Benner invites us into this journey of shedding our false self by beginning with knowing God by reflecting on how he is revealed through Jesus in the gospels and how we experience his presence in our daily lives. He then deals with the issue of self-knowledge, our ignored part-selves and the amazing truth that God in Christ knows us as we truly are, despite all our failed self-improvement projects--and he loves us! He then goes deeper and calls for facing the fact that we are sinners and identifying the roots of sin in our lives, introducing the reader to the Enneagram as a tool to do this. He then invites us to face our false selves, particularly recognizing what makes us fearful and wanting to hide and where we are most defensive--a sign of the self we are trying to prop up. Finally, Benner calls us to find our true self, not by seeking the self, but by seeking the knowledge of the Lord, to identify with Christ and to recognize that the givens of our uniqueness are meant to be lived out in dependence upon Christ.
This is a short book but worthy of being read both slowly and re-read!
Benner invites us into this journey of shedding our false self by beginning with knowing God by reflecting on how he is revealed through Jesus in the gospels and how we experience his presence in our daily lives. He then deals with the issue of self-knowledge, our ignored part-selves and the amazing truth that God in Christ knows us as we truly are, despite all our failed self-improvement projects--and he loves us! He then goes deeper and calls for facing the fact that we are sinners and identifying the roots of sin in our lives, introducing the reader to the Enneagram as a tool to do this. He then invites us to face our false selves, particularly recognizing what makes us fearful and wanting to hide and where we are most defensive--a sign of the self we are trying to prop up. Finally, Benner calls us to find our true self, not by seeking the self, but by seeking the knowledge of the Lord, to identify with Christ and to recognize that the givens of our uniqueness are meant to be lived out in dependence upon Christ.
This is a short book but worthy of being read both slowly and re-read!
October 22, 2010
Great little book about self-discovery, identity and authenticity. Some highlights:
"Christian spirituality has a great deal to do with the self, not just with God. The goal of the spiritual journey is the transformation of self. This requires knowing both our self and God. Both are necessary if we are to discover our true identity as those who are in Christ.
In all of creation, identity is a challenge only for humans. A tulip knows exactly what it is. It is never tempted by false ways of being. So it is with dogs, rocks, trees, stars, amoebas, electrons and all other things. All give glory to God by being exactly what they are. For in being what God means them to be, they are obeying him.
We should never be tempted to think that growth in Christlikeness reduces our uniqueness. As we become more and more like Christ we become more uniquely our own true self.
John Calvin -- "There is no deep knowing of God without a deep knowing of self and no deep knowing of self without a deep knowing of God."
We are all called to live the truth of our uniqueness. Divine creativity has never involved a production assembly line. The results of God's creative acts are never less than original and truly unique works of art. You and I are no exception.
Without deemphasizing the value of the Bible in knowing my calling, I have come to understand an even more basic place in which God's will for me has been communicated. That is in the givens of my being. My temperment, my personality, my abilities and my interests and passions all say something about who I was called to be, not simply who I am. If I really believe that I was created by God and invited to take my place in His kingdom, I have to take seriously what God has already revealed about who I am.
"Christian spirituality has a great deal to do with the self, not just with God. The goal of the spiritual journey is the transformation of self. This requires knowing both our self and God. Both are necessary if we are to discover our true identity as those who are in Christ.
In all of creation, identity is a challenge only for humans. A tulip knows exactly what it is. It is never tempted by false ways of being. So it is with dogs, rocks, trees, stars, amoebas, electrons and all other things. All give glory to God by being exactly what they are. For in being what God means them to be, they are obeying him.
We should never be tempted to think that growth in Christlikeness reduces our uniqueness. As we become more and more like Christ we become more uniquely our own true self.
John Calvin -- "There is no deep knowing of God without a deep knowing of self and no deep knowing of self without a deep knowing of God."
We are all called to live the truth of our uniqueness. Divine creativity has never involved a production assembly line. The results of God's creative acts are never less than original and truly unique works of art. You and I are no exception.
Without deemphasizing the value of the Bible in knowing my calling, I have come to understand an even more basic place in which God's will for me has been communicated. That is in the givens of my being. My temperment, my personality, my abilities and my interests and passions all say something about who I was called to be, not simply who I am. If I really believe that I was created by God and invited to take my place in His kingdom, I have to take seriously what God has already revealed about who I am.
December 19, 2017
A small book with quite a lot to think about. I appreciate that this book differs from most 'How to Know God' books that I've read by presenting fresh ideas. Brenner explains how knowing God and knowing self go hand in hand, and includes some useful reflection exercises to do. This is a book that I can see myself coming back to.
November 5, 2022
There are few books that tangibly change the disposition of your being, and The Gift of Being Yourself is one of those books for me. The depth and breadth of this book that is literally less than 100 pages is absolutely outstanding to me. I read this for a course in undergrad that was structured around Identity, and this book clearly discusses this with its subtitle being “the sacred call to self-discovery”, but reading It in post-grad has been a true balm for the soul.
There are heaps of books that encourage individuals to journey the road of self discovery, but this work does it in a way that anchors every moment of that process in the person of God. Bennett has such a gift in articulating the Gospel, while also expounding on the historical churches dialogue surrounding the self in relation to God, that invites the church of today to return to the important work of knowing ourselves in relation to God for the sake of the world.
I think this is a particularly poignant read for those like myself who have grown up in the contemporary Protestant church, for rather than demonizing the self, it redeems and reorients the reader to a kinder, more gracious perspective in which the love of God literally transforms an individual into their true self - the person we were made to be in Christ. The only way we can 1)experience the person of God and 2) be a declaration of his love in our current moment and to our neighbor, is through the conduit of our individual selves. So knowing and journeying deeper into God to find the fuller versions and purer images that God has made us to be allows us to pursue these two essential goals of the Christian life with more clarity and intention.
Bennett consistently maintains this work in the love of God, and is constantly ensuring that this work is not for the sake of the self alone, but for the purposes of the Kingdom of God seeing its fuller realization in and through us by the power of the Spirit. What a gift this book is. I highly recommend. Plus there’s a tiny portion of enneagram discussion in there for my enneagram lover friends.
A few quotes I loved (although there’s literally something underlined on every single page in my copy of this book):
- “True knowing of our self demands that we know our self as known by God, and true knowing of God demands that we know God not just as an abstraction or as objective data but in and through our lived experience” - page 19
- “Jesus is the image of the invisible God. Thus he is the filter through which we need to pass all our ideas about God as we seek to move from knowing God to meeting God personally in Jesus.” - page 35
- “We are graven on the palms of God’s hands and never out of the Divine mind” - page 45
- “I only know Divine unconditional, radical and reckless love for me when I dare to approach God just as I am. The more I have the courage to meet God in this place of weakness, the more I will know myself to be truly and deeply loved by God. And the more deeply I know this love, the easier it will be to trust it as Christ did - preferring God’s will to my own” - page 49
- Genuine Christ-following will always make us more, not less, human” - page 88
- “Christ’s way onto self-fulfillment is not like any way we could ever have imagined. His way involves losing our life so that we might find it, dying so that we might live. His way is always the way of the cross. Death always precedes new life.” - page 94
“The mystery of the Christian gospel is that our deepest, truest self is not what we think of as our own separate self but the self that is one with Christ.” - page 101-102
There are heaps of books that encourage individuals to journey the road of self discovery, but this work does it in a way that anchors every moment of that process in the person of God. Bennett has such a gift in articulating the Gospel, while also expounding on the historical churches dialogue surrounding the self in relation to God, that invites the church of today to return to the important work of knowing ourselves in relation to God for the sake of the world.
I think this is a particularly poignant read for those like myself who have grown up in the contemporary Protestant church, for rather than demonizing the self, it redeems and reorients the reader to a kinder, more gracious perspective in which the love of God literally transforms an individual into their true self - the person we were made to be in Christ. The only way we can 1)experience the person of God and 2) be a declaration of his love in our current moment and to our neighbor, is through the conduit of our individual selves. So knowing and journeying deeper into God to find the fuller versions and purer images that God has made us to be allows us to pursue these two essential goals of the Christian life with more clarity and intention.
Bennett consistently maintains this work in the love of God, and is constantly ensuring that this work is not for the sake of the self alone, but for the purposes of the Kingdom of God seeing its fuller realization in and through us by the power of the Spirit. What a gift this book is. I highly recommend. Plus there’s a tiny portion of enneagram discussion in there for my enneagram lover friends.
A few quotes I loved (although there’s literally something underlined on every single page in my copy of this book):
- “True knowing of our self demands that we know our self as known by God, and true knowing of God demands that we know God not just as an abstraction or as objective data but in and through our lived experience” - page 19
- “Jesus is the image of the invisible God. Thus he is the filter through which we need to pass all our ideas about God as we seek to move from knowing God to meeting God personally in Jesus.” - page 35
- “We are graven on the palms of God’s hands and never out of the Divine mind” - page 45
- “I only know Divine unconditional, radical and reckless love for me when I dare to approach God just as I am. The more I have the courage to meet God in this place of weakness, the more I will know myself to be truly and deeply loved by God. And the more deeply I know this love, the easier it will be to trust it as Christ did - preferring God’s will to my own” - page 49
- Genuine Christ-following will always make us more, not less, human” - page 88
- “Christ’s way onto self-fulfillment is not like any way we could ever have imagined. His way involves losing our life so that we might find it, dying so that we might live. His way is always the way of the cross. Death always precedes new life.” - page 94
“The mystery of the Christian gospel is that our deepest, truest self is not what we think of as our own separate self but the self that is one with Christ.” - page 101-102
February 26, 2024
Book Review Rating: 7/10
This Book Is:
- Written from a psychological perspective.
- About the connection between knowing God and knowing ourselves.
- Helpful for people struggling to take the next step in their faith.
This Book Is Not:
- Written from a theological perspective.
- For those closed or unwilling to explore their emotions and feelings.
My Takeaways:
- The role of sin in forming our false selves. Many sins can be boiled down to the core sins of pride, anger, greed, etc. We will continually fall into the same sins until we address the underlying sin that leads us back to the same spot.
My Critiques:
- Tying identity to experience: Benner seems to contrast experience with objective facts or head knowledge. Experience seems to only refer to emotions or heart knowledge. As someone who is much more a thinker than a feeler, I think Benner’s approach falls short of fully encompassing everyone’s experiences. I don’t think that feeling and thinking can be so cleanly split. We can experience God through thoughts and feelings. We can have a relationship with God with both our thoughts and feelings. I regularly experience God through ideas and concepts.
- The role of the Bible: Benner states that he doesn’t want to diminish the value of the Bible in knowing our vocation, but claims that the givens of our being are more core to understanding God’s will for our lives than the Bible. The givens are our temperament, personality, abilities, interests, and passions. As an evangelical, the authority of Scripture and sufficiency of Scripture are of primary importance. This seems like an unnecessary distinction. We know Jesus and ourselves through the Bible. The Bible provides the framework that we use to define the aspects of our personality, abilities, and interests that aligns with the Kingdom of God. We should be wary of undermining the role of Scripture or thinking it is somehow in conflict with who we are.
Click here to read the full review at Faithful Intellect.
This Book Is:
- Written from a psychological perspective.
- About the connection between knowing God and knowing ourselves.
- Helpful for people struggling to take the next step in their faith.
This Book Is Not:
- Written from a theological perspective.
- For those closed or unwilling to explore their emotions and feelings.
My Takeaways:
- The role of sin in forming our false selves. Many sins can be boiled down to the core sins of pride, anger, greed, etc. We will continually fall into the same sins until we address the underlying sin that leads us back to the same spot.
My Critiques:
- Tying identity to experience: Benner seems to contrast experience with objective facts or head knowledge. Experience seems to only refer to emotions or heart knowledge. As someone who is much more a thinker than a feeler, I think Benner’s approach falls short of fully encompassing everyone’s experiences. I don’t think that feeling and thinking can be so cleanly split. We can experience God through thoughts and feelings. We can have a relationship with God with both our thoughts and feelings. I regularly experience God through ideas and concepts.
- The role of the Bible: Benner states that he doesn’t want to diminish the value of the Bible in knowing our vocation, but claims that the givens of our being are more core to understanding God’s will for our lives than the Bible. The givens are our temperament, personality, abilities, interests, and passions. As an evangelical, the authority of Scripture and sufficiency of Scripture are of primary importance. This seems like an unnecessary distinction. We know Jesus and ourselves through the Bible. The Bible provides the framework that we use to define the aspects of our personality, abilities, and interests that aligns with the Kingdom of God. We should be wary of undermining the role of Scripture or thinking it is somehow in conflict with who we are.
Click here to read the full review at Faithful Intellect.
July 8, 2023
PHEW. This book is such a rich invitation into a deeper knowing of God and self. I am one hundred percent going to be reading through it again—much, much slower. Highly recommend!
April 1, 2022
Would I ever have picked up a book called "the gift of being yourself" of my own volition? No.
Is this book freakin awesome? yes.
Benner goes deep, yet keeps it so simple. He doesn't use smart theological language, but gets to the heart of this topic drawing on many of the Christian spiritual greats, making them accessible - which only serves to highlight his familiarity with his subject matter.
Is this book freakin awesome? yes.
Benner goes deep, yet keeps it so simple. He doesn't use smart theological language, but gets to the heart of this topic drawing on many of the Christian spiritual greats, making them accessible - which only serves to highlight his familiarity with his subject matter.
July 21, 2023
“Truth is God himself who cannot be known apart from life and cannot be loved apart from surrender to his will. Genuine knowing demands a response. To know God demands that we be willing to be touched by Divine love. To be touched by God’s love is to be forever changed. To surrender to Divine love is to find our soul’s home — the place and identity for which we yearn in every cell of our being.”
This book rocked my whole little world in the best way! I have a few question marks in margins on things that I’m still thinking over but it’s mostly underlines and stars and highlights and exclamation points because there is just such rich goodness in these 90ish pages! Confident I’ll return to this book again and again.
This book rocked my whole little world in the best way! I have a few question marks in margins on things that I’m still thinking over but it’s mostly underlines and stars and highlights and exclamation points because there is just such rich goodness in these 90ish pages! Confident I’ll return to this book again and again.
September 3, 2023
This was my third time reading this book. (First time was in 2014, second time in 2018, third time in 2023). Unfortunately, this time I read it so sporadically over several months, and during a really hard season, that I wasn't as present and willing to dig in as I have previously. However, I still rate it a 5 because this book has been transformational for me in the past.
November 18, 2023
David Benner balances 1.) a brilliant vision for the spiritual necessity of self-awareness with 2.) action steps that lead to contemplative spiritual disciplines. I think some of his points could have been made with less lofty language, which may alienate some readers not accustomed to the contemplative tradition.
May 25, 2021
Not sure if I will understand how much this book has impacted me until I reread it or spend more time processing it. However, I know that the idea and messages communicated in this book are ones that I will take with me for a very long time.
June 29, 2019
Too repetitive imo.
March 24, 2020
I never would’ve picked this book up of a shelf based on the title alone. It seems like the kind of book I avoid. But I am so glad a dear friend sent it to me! It is much more than just being yourself in some fluffy way. It is a call to deep knowing of God and self and increasing Christlikeness as we become the people God created us to be by the power of surrendering ourselves completely as we are to the Holy Spirit. The language can feel a little weird sometimes, and the biblical exegesis is a stretch sometimes, but all in all it was a true game changer for me. Changed my life and heart and hopefully my walk with Jesus forever. I have already bought this for several friends!
February 3, 2023
Ch. 1-4, meh. Ch 5-6??? Bomb. Made me ask myself some tough questions. Also anyone who makes Catholic monks and John Calvin agree has to be on to something.
I think it could best be summarized by this quote:
“The true self is who, in reality, you are and who you are becoming. It is not something you need to construct through a process of self improvement or deconstruct by means of psychological analysis… We do not find our true self by seeking it. Rather, we find it by seeking God.”
I think it could best be summarized by this quote:
“The true self is who, in reality, you are and who you are becoming. It is not something you need to construct through a process of self improvement or deconstruct by means of psychological analysis… We do not find our true self by seeking it. Rather, we find it by seeking God.”
January 30, 2023
This is book 2/3 of David Benners spiritual journey series. I cannot recommend this enough. The biggest takeaway for me (which seems obvious but surprisingly isn't) is that there is a difference between knowing about God and knowing God. There is a difference between knowing what He "would say" and knowing what he presently "says". I have to remind myself daily that we serve a living, active, dynamic God that speaks to us in the present. We should stop assuming what he might say about something and pause and LISTEN to what he has to say. Book 1 and Book 2 of this series speak to Gospel Meditation which has been one of the greatest tools I have learned. Here is a glimpse into a Gospel Meditation prompt:
"The meditation I am recommending is not the same as Bible study. It is more an exercise of the imagination than of the intellect. It involves allowing the Spirit of God to help you imaginatively enter an event in the life of Christ as presented in the Gospels.
Let me illustrate what I mean by this by suggesting a simple exercise based on Mark’s account of Jesus and the rich young man. First, take a moment to quiet yourself in God’s presence. Close your eyes and ask God to take the words of Scripture and, by the power of his Spirit, make them God’s Word to you. Ask for the gift of a few moments of Spirit-guided imaginative encounter with Jesus. Then slowly read the following account several times—preferably out loud.
Now allow yourself to daydream on the situation presented in the story. First picture the man approaching as Jesus is leaving on a journey. Then, as if you were a spectator, observe the events as they unfold. Watch, listen and stay attentive to Christ. Don’t be distracted by the rich young ruler. And don’t try to analyze the story or learn lessons from it. Just be present to Jesus and open to your own reactions. Put the book down now and spend four or five minutes trying this simple exercise."
"The meditation I am recommending is not the same as Bible study. It is more an exercise of the imagination than of the intellect. It involves allowing the Spirit of God to help you imaginatively enter an event in the life of Christ as presented in the Gospels.
Let me illustrate what I mean by this by suggesting a simple exercise based on Mark’s account of Jesus and the rich young man. First, take a moment to quiet yourself in God’s presence. Close your eyes and ask God to take the words of Scripture and, by the power of his Spirit, make them God’s Word to you. Ask for the gift of a few moments of Spirit-guided imaginative encounter with Jesus. Then slowly read the following account several times—preferably out loud.
Now allow yourself to daydream on the situation presented in the story. First picture the man approaching as Jesus is leaving on a journey. Then, as if you were a spectator, observe the events as they unfold. Watch, listen and stay attentive to Christ. Don’t be distracted by the rich young ruler. And don’t try to analyze the story or learn lessons from it. Just be present to Jesus and open to your own reactions. Put the book down now and spend four or five minutes trying this simple exercise."
July 4, 2022
Phenomenal. Going to buy this so I can read again.
“The self is not God. But it is the place where we meet God. There can be no genuine spiritual transformation if we seek some external meeting place. God’s intended home is our heart, and it is meeting God in our depths that transforms us from the inside out.”
“The self is not God. But it is the place where we meet God. There can be no genuine spiritual transformation if we seek some external meeting place. God’s intended home is our heart, and it is meeting God in our depths that transforms us from the inside out.”
May 22, 2024
The book had some really good points about how there is no true life apart from a life with God and seeking next steps, but overall I got a bad taste in my mouth because the book attempted to give readers a doorway to justify their sin. It also never challenged readers towards sanctification, but rather told them to be comfortable in their sinful lives. Would not suggest it.
September 28, 2022
This book gets better and better the more you read through it. Benner seeks to help the reader recognize and ultimately surrender the false selves we’ve all created, the “me who I wish to be.” It’s only when we fully accept and acknowledge who we are in our entirety that we can begin to experience Gospel transformation. Not a long book, but definitely a needed and encouraging one.
December 31, 2022
Some new sentiments, some old ones. Can’t say I agree with Dr. Benner on errythang.
January 23, 2023
This book originally made me a bit nervous based on the title, but as I started to get into it - I saw the goodness.
“We do not find our true self by seeking it. Rather, we find it by seeking God. For as I have said, in finding God we find our trust and deepest self. The anthropological question (Who am I?) and the theological question (Who is God?) are fundamental and truly inseparable. It is by losing our self in God that we discover our true identity”
“Had we dared to trust God’s goodness, we would have discovered that everything we could ever most deeply long for would be ours in God.
Trying to gain more than everything God offers, we end up with less than nothing”
Jesus is absolutely central throughout and a focus on letting God into who we are to deeper and deeper levels is also strong. I highly recommend this for leaders and those wanting to become more mature in their faith. Some of the wording might be uncomfortable for some - but reading through prayerfully and discerning that uncomfortableness (new word), this becomes very useful.
“We do not find our true self by seeking it. Rather, we find it by seeking God. For as I have said, in finding God we find our trust and deepest self. The anthropological question (Who am I?) and the theological question (Who is God?) are fundamental and truly inseparable. It is by losing our self in God that we discover our true identity”
“Had we dared to trust God’s goodness, we would have discovered that everything we could ever most deeply long for would be ours in God.
Trying to gain more than everything God offers, we end up with less than nothing”
Jesus is absolutely central throughout and a focus on letting God into who we are to deeper and deeper levels is also strong. I highly recommend this for leaders and those wanting to become more mature in their faith. Some of the wording might be uncomfortable for some - but reading through prayerfully and discerning that uncomfortableness (new word), this becomes very useful.
June 7, 2022
I think 5 years ago the title of this short little book would have made me suspicious of content consisting of watered down theology — I probably wouldn’t have even picked it up. I read it on John Mark Comer’s recommendation and I really enjoyed it. It’s relatively simple yet it gave me a lot to ponder on. I think the topics of identity and spiritual transformation are critically important and this book was insightful. I’m definitely keeping it around and know I will be thumbing through it from time to time!
January 7, 2023
Shortie but goodie. Great for self awareness & growth in attunement. Love how it challenges the rather uncomfortable feelings Christianity, as a culture, tends to ignore. Less “lay down your life & put others before you” message and more “accept your human limitations which in turn make you more like Christ”
September 20, 2021
So good. I definitely recommend it. (The title sounds like it could get a little weird; it’s basically about how Jesus indwells and saves who we actually are, not the false fronts we present ourselves as, and that true knowing of God necessitates letting go of the false self and meeting God in the depth of our sinfulness, and growing into who He designed us to be. Just read the book.)
March 10, 2023
“Some Christians base their identity on being a sinner. I think they have it wrong - or only half right. You are not simply a sinner; you are a deeply loved sinner. And there is all the difference in the world between the two.”
David Benner never disappoints!! I could read this book again and again and still have something to gain from it. The Gift of Being Yourself talks about how our truest self is the one that is in Christ - such a beautiful and needed truth. I highly highly recommend this book and the others that are in this series!!!
David Benner never disappoints!! I could read this book again and again and still have something to gain from it. The Gift of Being Yourself talks about how our truest self is the one that is in Christ - such a beautiful and needed truth. I highly highly recommend this book and the others that are in this series!!!
June 7, 2017
A small book with a lot to think about. Finished but getting ready to read it again. Such a fantastic book on identity.
September 22, 2022
This is a wonderful and encouraging book on the topic of identity as a Christian. It essentially acts as a treatment + explanation of St Augustine’s famous words: “Grant, Lord, that I may know myself that I may know thee.”
4.5/5
4.5/5
January 19, 2024
Wow! This little book is a powerful invitation to know God and who He has designed you to be. Far from a physiological book with a few verses thrown in, it is a powerful theologically and biblically grounded work that will contribute to your discipleship journey in significant ways.
May 16, 2024
I read this in a little over a day (very short) but I think I’m going to read it again very soon because there’s so much to absorb. Would recommend!
August 12, 2022
This is a book I need to read again, but slower. And then read it again and again and again and again. A lot of wonderful things to digest in here to facilitate knowing God and knowing yourself, as David explains each are dependent upon one another as made in the image of God. A short read, definitely should be on your list!
April 23, 2021
“Who am I? No, I don’t think you get it. Who AM I?” A prayer that any self reflective individual thinks to themselves and prays into what might feel like an empty sky.
This book is a Christian psychologists expanded view on John Calvin’s well known introduction to the institutes that describe how knowledge of self comes from the knowledge of God and the knowledge of God is directly related to our knowledge of ourselves. i. e. True self discovery and identity can only be found when we come to know God as He has revealed Himself to us in the Scriptures.
Benner is a somewhat chaotic writer. Something that i’ve grown to love as of late. By this I mean that in one paragraph he will go quoting Calvin or Packer and in another paragraph quoting Merton or Rohr. There were a handful of times when he also eluded to the potentiality of being catholic but could not quite grasp a denominational affiliation. In my opinion those can be the best writers.
“The Gift of Being Yourself” is an excellent spring-board toward the lifelong call to self discovery that those who find themselves no longer comfortable with a surface-level and comfortable being. Many of the points that Benner made are not new to me - but I think that most of them are Scripturally founded and ask questions that will resonate with the reader. One note I did make was the thankfulness I found that Benner did not avoid the conversation of sin and brokenness. There are far too many christian identity books that don’t talk about the reality sin and was wary of such at first approach.
Don’t remember where it came from but a key takeaway that I found is the question i’m asking myself and friends:
“What is the synonymity of biblical truth and a grounding reality while i strive to live in the teachings of Christ that exhort oneself to, “the truth that will set you free?”
In other words; just how connected is tangible reality outside of my head-heart cycle and the truth of the gospel identity in relation to the true self? These are some things I will be contemplating onward.
This book is a Christian psychologists expanded view on John Calvin’s well known introduction to the institutes that describe how knowledge of self comes from the knowledge of God and the knowledge of God is directly related to our knowledge of ourselves. i. e. True self discovery and identity can only be found when we come to know God as He has revealed Himself to us in the Scriptures.
Benner is a somewhat chaotic writer. Something that i’ve grown to love as of late. By this I mean that in one paragraph he will go quoting Calvin or Packer and in another paragraph quoting Merton or Rohr. There were a handful of times when he also eluded to the potentiality of being catholic but could not quite grasp a denominational affiliation. In my opinion those can be the best writers.
“The Gift of Being Yourself” is an excellent spring-board toward the lifelong call to self discovery that those who find themselves no longer comfortable with a surface-level and comfortable being. Many of the points that Benner made are not new to me - but I think that most of them are Scripturally founded and ask questions that will resonate with the reader. One note I did make was the thankfulness I found that Benner did not avoid the conversation of sin and brokenness. There are far too many christian identity books that don’t talk about the reality sin and was wary of such at first approach.
Don’t remember where it came from but a key takeaway that I found is the question i’m asking myself and friends:
“What is the synonymity of biblical truth and a grounding reality while i strive to live in the teachings of Christ that exhort oneself to, “the truth that will set you free?”
In other words; just how connected is tangible reality outside of my head-heart cycle and the truth of the gospel identity in relation to the true self? These are some things I will be contemplating onward.
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