Your God-Given Identity
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
2 Corinthians 5:17
You don’t need to read indy-mag.com, to be reminded of the 2007 Britney Spears very public tantrum as she exited rehab, filed for divorce and shaved her hair off. Ms. Spears was having an identity crisis.
Some famous people handle these kind of identity-crisis situations much more gracefully, such as first lady Michelle Obama. According to huffingtonpost.com, she admitted her controversial bangs were a midlife crisis move. Shortly after her 49th birthday Mrs. Obama said, “I couldn’t get a sports car. They won’t let me bungee jump. So instead, I cut my bangs.”
Famous or not, it seems we all struggle at times to find our identity. There was, however, one very famous man who never wavered in knowing his identity. It was declared before, at, and after his birth. It followed him to his death, becoming crystal clear after he exited the tomb.
This of course was Jesus Christ. He may have never had to “find himself,” but he did regularly find it necessary to defend his God-given place in the universe – he was and is the Son of God. And in that identity he made it clear that this made him a servant. He told this to his disciples in Matthew 20:28a, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others…”
What does that mean for us? With Jesus as a servant how does that affect or change our perspective and/or our behavior?
If you understand your identity as a child of God it will have a profound effect on everything…every day and in every way.
In Ephesians 1:5a Paul writes, “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ.” In accepting Jesus Christ, we can then stake our identity in Christ. We become sons and daughters of God. We then take our rightful place in the family of God as we inherit all the glory and responsibilities given to Christ, including servanthood here on earth.
We are just like Jesus in the following ways:
- a child of God.
- sharing the inheritance of Christ.
- here to serve others.
This is us.
This is you.
Read it again.
Say it out loud.
Post it on the refrigerator, your computer screen, above the kitchen sink, on your bicycle, your gaming device; any place you regularly hang out.
Read it.
Memorize it.
Live your identity.
And the next time you are asked, “Tell me about yourself,” instead of saying “I am a student, a manager, a mom, or _________(you fill in the blank)” you will be prepared to clearly and confidently state your true God-given identity!!
JW