Identity

Wow, school has just officially started and I am already busy! Just as a quick update, God has been so stinkin' faithful with EVERYTHING! Praying for Knutzen Men's and Women's Bible studies and God is providing residents of all years! I am so excited to see what else God may do with this place while I am here...praying that He would use me where he needs me. Just had an ice cream social last night to promote the Bible studies and we had a pretty decent turnout for that so praise Him!


So I have been thinking more and more about is how important our identities are. People are so very cautious these days when talking about things dealing with our identities. And rightfully so, I suppose, with all the identity thefts that happen today because of our ever-growing technological knowledge. But, I have also been finding that we as the human race find our identities in some really foolish things. People find their identities in music, in art, in their careers, in their failures, and in their successes. Some things that people find their identities in seem like they are good things, but, in reality they are not. We strive to find our identity in things that are eternally worthless. We strive, and work, and labor, and exert our efforts on things trying to please ourselves and maybe even trying to please God...but friends, it will all be for naught. This tendency in us to performance is rooted in our inadequate view of God's holiness and our identity. We view ourselves as orphans instead of children who God delights in.

Identity goes right along with the gospel and what the Bible spells out for us. Identity is one of the most significant facets of the gospel; more specifically, our adoption as God's sons and daughters. When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, we become God's children and are then literally apart of His family. But all too often we forget our identity as sons and daughters and think of ourselves as slaves or orphans. With that in mind take a look at what Galatians 4:4-7 says...

"But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir."

And also, Romans 8:14-18...

"because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."

These two passages reveal to us that we are no longer "slaves of fear", but God has redeemed us from that and we are now his children, heirs to his Kingdom. If this is really true, why do we continue to forget about our sonship? It is because of sin that we are pone to forgetting. Our sin creates a sense of alienation within us, and when this happens we regress back into that orphan/slave mindset, trying to gain God's approval by our good works rather than believing that we already have it in Christ. When we fail to root our identity in our adoption as God's children, we slip into performance-driven Christianity. Living this way, always trying to gain God's favor, drains the joy and delight out of following Jesus and shrinks the cross and the gospel in our lives.


I want you to ask yourself a question...as God thinks of you right now, what is the look on his face?

What is he doing? What does he look like? Do you picture God as disappointed? Angry? Does his face say "Get your act together!"?

If you imagined God as anything but overjoyed with you, you have fallen into a performance mindset. Because of Christ, God is deeply satisfied with you! When you are in Christ, and God looks at you, he sees his beloved Son with whom he is well pleased! Jesus has perfectly met God's holy standard, and his obedience has been counted as yours and his righteousness has been credited to you!

Sin causes us to forget our identity, which drives us toward performance. And sin tempts us to trust in our own self-effort, which spurs us to act as slaves instead of children. Fight back against your sin by dwelling on your true identity as God's sons and daughters! Remind yourself that God is well pleased with you because he is please with Jesus. We need to preach the gospel to ourselves every single moment of every single day! We NEVER outgrow the gospel. As we walk in repentance and faith, repentance and faith, repentance and faith the gospel and the cross will loom larger in our lives.

There is a quote I remember...don't remember the originator, but here it is: "Whatever can take away your sense of worth or value is what gives it to you." In light of this, why do we need to get our sense of identity from Christ? Because if we put our identity in something that is not everlasting, it is only going to fade away. But when we put our value in Christ, we know that he loves us and will never diminish and never grow weary!


I pray that we all would take an honest look into our own lives and see where our identity lies. If it is in something, ANYTHING other then you, Lord, I pray that you would reveal that to us and strip it away. Lord, I do not want to lessen the cross in my life, I want it to grow! Father, when I call you 'Father'...I want to really know what that means. I want to take that as it was meant to be...you are my Father and I am your son. Father God, continue to show me that my identity belongs in Christ and nothing else. Continue to make it clear in my mind that you are to be my identity and the source of my value.

Psalms 149:4