Douglas Vandergraph Faith Ministry from YouTube

A Deep, Faith-Centered Exploration of Worth, Love, and the True Heart of Christ

There is a message being preached in churches, shared on social platforms, and whispered through religious circles that has nothing to do with the Jesus of Scripture. It is a message soaked in fear, shame, and accusation. It is a message that tells people they are unworthy. That they are failures. That they are disappointments. That they are nothing more than sinners crawling their way to a God who barely tolerates them.

And for some reason, many believers have accepted that tone as normal.

But imagine something different. Imagine sitting with Jesus—not the version created by harsh preaching, not the version shaped by fear-based religion, not the version drawn from human frustration—but the real Jesus. The One who healed the broken. The One who welcomed the ashamed. The One who lifted the fallen. The One who could stop a storm with His voice but refused to silence the cry of a hurting heart.

Imagine looking Him in the eyes and saying:

“Lord… why do so many people tell me I’m not worthy of You? Is that really how You see me?”

And He leans in, with that unmistakable gentleness, and everything in your soul begins to breathe again.

This article is about that conversation.

This is about reclaiming what Jesus actually sounds like—and exposing the emptiness of the messages that wound His people rather than heal them.

THE VOICE OF JESUS HAS NEVER BEEN A VOICE OF ACCUSATION

One of the greatest misunderstandings in modern Christianity is this idea that Jesus begins with what is wrong with a person. That He leads with judgment. That He greets His children with disappointment. That He measures them by their failures.

But the Gospels tell a completely different story.

Look at every encounter He had with someone who had completely blown their life apart:

• The woman caught in adultery—He shielded her before He corrected her.
• Zacchaeus—He affirmed his identity before addressing his corruption.
• The Samaritan woman—He offered relationship before addressing her past.
• Peter—He restored him before sending him.
• The thief on the cross—He welcomed him without requiring a résumé.

In every story, one truth rises above the others:

Jesus never led with accusation.
He led with worth.

Not because sin doesn’t matter.
But because identity matters more.

He addresses sin the way a doctor addresses sickness—not with condemnation, but with compassion. Not to shame, but to heal. Not to remind you how broken you are, but to restore what has been wounded.

And when we forget that, the message of Christ becomes distorted. Heavy. Crushing. Something Jesus never meant for His people to carry.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HUMILITY AND HUMILIATION

Many believers have been taught that feeling “worthless” is spiritual humility. That thinking poorly of yourself is somehow honoring to God. That crawling into His presence ashamed is the proper posture of worship.

But humility and humiliation are opposites.

Humility says, “I need God.”
Humiliation says, “God doesn’t want me.”

Humility acknowledges dependence.
Humiliation erases identity.

And Jesus never humiliated those who came to Him. He humbled the proud—yes—but He lifted the crushed.

He never used truth as a weapon.
He never used Scripture to shame.
He never used holiness to crush broken hearts.

When the religious leaders threw that woman into the dirt, ready to stone her, it wasn’t her sin Jesus challenged first—it was their hardness.

When shame is preached louder than love, the message no longer reflects the heart of Christ.

THE DANGEROUS IDEA THAT YOU ARE WORTHLESS TO GOD

There is a message floating through Christian culture that says, “You are nothing. You are worthless. You are garbage compared to God.”

But if that were true, then the entire story of redemption collapses.

You determine the value of anything by the price someone is willing to pay for it.

And God paid the highest price in the universe.

Heaven was emptied.
The Son was given.
The cross was embraced.
Blood was poured out.
Hell was defeated.
Death was shattered.

No one bankrupts heaven for trash.

Your worth is not a fragile concept hanging on your performance.
Your worth is a settled reality sealed by the sacrifice of Christ Himself.

To say you are worthless is to insult the One who chose you.

WHY SHAME NEVER PRODUCES HOLINESS

Some Christians preach as if the more ashamed you feel, the more spiritual you become. As if the more someone crushes your spirit, the more obedient you will be. As if anxiety is a sign of reverence, and fear is a sign of faithfulness.

But shame doesn’t transform.
Shame suppresses.
Shame silences.
Shame isolates.

Adam and Eve didn’t run to God after they sinned—they hid from Him.

Shame pushes people away.
Love pulls people in.

And Jesus didn’t come so we would hide our hearts—He came so our hearts could be healed.

THE TRUTH ABOUT HOW JESUS SPEAKS TO YOU

If you sat with Him—really sat with Him—what would His voice sound like?

It would not be harsh.
It would not be condemning.
It would not be impatient.
It would not be cold.
It would not be disappointed in your every breath.

It would sound like the same voice that comforted Mary when her world fell apart.
The same voice that called Lazarus out of the grave.
The same voice that forgave Peter at the fire.
The same voice that promised paradise to a dying thief.
The same voice that told a broken woman she was not condemned.

His voice is firm when needed, but never cruel.
Strong, but never crushing.
Honest, but never humiliating.
Convicting, but never condemning.

And He would tell you:

“You are not who the world says you are.
You are not who shame says you are.
You are not who fear says you are.
You are who I say you are.”

And who does He say you are?

Chosen.
Loved.
Pursued.
Valuable.
Redeemed.
Worth dying for.
Worth rising for.
Worth returning for.

WHY SOME BELIEVERS ACCEPT HURTFUL MESSAGES

It’s painful to admit, but many Christians accept harsh preaching because it’s all they’ve ever known. They’ve confused strictness with spirituality. They’ve mistaken fear for reverence. They’ve believed that if someone is yelling, they must be telling the truth.

But volume does not equal anointing.

And harshness does not equal holiness.

People repeat the faith they inherited.
People preach the tone that shaped them.
People recreate the spiritual environments that formed them—even if they were unhealthy.

Sometimes believers cling to messages that belittle them because it feels safer than believing God actually delights in them.

Love is harder to receive than fear.
Grace is harder to believe than guilt.
Acceptance is harder to trust than accusation.

But the Gospel is not built on fear.
It is built on a cross drenched in love.

THE HEART OF JESUS IS STILL THE SAFEST PLACE FOR A BROKEN PERSON

When you strip away religious pressure and human performance, you find something steady and unchanging:

Jesus is still safe.

Safe for the ashamed.
Safe for the weary.
Safe for the sinner who wants to come home.
Safe for the person who feels like they’ve failed one too many times.
Safe for the one who has been crushed by cruel messages in the name of God.

He is nothing like the messages that wound people.

He listens.
He lifts.
He protects.
He restores.
He transforms.

And He does it all without tearing a person’s soul apart.

The world breaks people.
Religion often burdens people.
But Jesus heals people.

That has always been His heart.

THE MESSAGE JESUS WOULD GIVE TO YOU DIRECTLY

If He were sitting across from you right now, He wouldn’t begin with your mistakes. He wouldn’t start with your shortcomings. He wouldn’t recite your history like a prosecutor building a case.

He would look at you—and everything in His eyes would tell the truth before He spoke a word.

And then He would say:

“You were worth My journey to earth.
You were worth My suffering.
You were worth the cross.
You were worth the resurrection.
And you are worth My love today.”

He would tell you:

“You are not defined by what you’ve done.
You are defined by who I am in you.”

He would remind you that He picked fishermen, tax collectors, outcasts, doubters, and failures to be His followers—not because they were perfect, but because they were willing.

He would remind you that your story is not beyond redemption.
Your heart is not beyond healing.
Your purpose is not beyond resurrection.
Your worth is not up for debate.

IF YOU HAVE BEEN WOUNDED BY RELIGIOUS SHAME

Let this sink deep into your spirit:

Jesus does not speak to you the way some people have spoken to you.

He does not label you.
He does not belittle you.
He does not degrade you.
He does not dismiss you.

If someone made you feel unworthy of God, that message did not come from God.

If someone made you feel like a disappointment, that message was not spoken by the One who knit you together in the womb.

If someone made you feel beyond redemption, it wasn’t heaven that condemned you.

You deserve to know that the voice of Jesus is gentle enough to calm storms and strong enough to silence fear.

You deserve to know that the heart of Jesus is tender enough to restore and powerful enough to transform.

You deserve to know that Christ did not come to remind you that you are a sinner—He came to show you that you are loved.

THE FINAL WORD: JESUS DOES NOT TEAR DOWN THOSE HE CAME TO SAVE

You are not unworthy.
You are not forgotten.
You are not hated.
You are not despised.
You are not an afterthought.

You are beloved.
You are valued.
You are seen.
You are pursued.
You are held.

Any message that makes you feel hated by God is not the Gospel.

The Gospel is the good news that God loved you long before you took your first breath… and He will love you long after your last.

So lift your head.

Walk with confidence—not in yourself, but in the One who calls you His own.

Because Jesus does not speak shame over His people.
Jesus speaks life.
Jesus speaks identity.
Jesus speaks hope.

And today, He is speaking over you:

“You are Mine.
And I delight in you.”

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— Douglas Vandergraph

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