My identity in Christ
One of human’s greatest fears is to lose one’s identity. It’s why we’re obsessed with labels. Mother, son, brother, teacher, artist, Asian-Australian, straight, religious, spiritual, cool, trendy, nerdy, and the list goes on.
Our main identity as believers
Our main identity that takes precedent over any other identity we have, is that of children of God.
1 John 3:1 tells us,
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
But as humans, we often get this wrong. Our search for identity often means our lifestyle determines our relationships with the world, friends, family and God. But when we recognise and acknowledge that we are God’s masterpiece and aren’t defined by anything but what God says, we know that our relationship with Him is what determines our lifestyle.
Let’s unpack these two statements deeper.
Lifestyle determines your relationships
If lifestyle determines your relationships that means we are people who are influenced from the outside in. We are under pressure to uphold the image others have of you. This causes stress as you do all you can to maintain the image you want others to have of you. But, then there is the truth - the image you have of yourself, which at the centre is guilt. Guilt around your identity and how it fails to compare to God’s version of you.
Relationship determines your lifestyle
But, we know that, “we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do,” (Ephesians 2:10). This means that our relationship with God defines our identity. It’s about transformation from the inside out. It starts with joy that can only found in our identity with Christ. This is followed by our understanding of ourselves as new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17). This becomes the true image we have of ourselves. We then want to influence the image others have of you. Do they see Jesus in you? Do they see the Gospel at work in your life? Finally, the image others have of us is shaped by our servant leader characteristics; a true reflection of Christ.
When we allow our relationship with God to determine our lifestyle, we can’t be swayed by anyone or anything. We can be confident in the identity that God has given us as children of God. And if you’re feeling lost in your identity, look to the Word of God for affirmation (1 Peter 2:9 and Psalm 139:13-14).
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you that you have given me a new identity, as a child of God. I’m grateful that my identity helps to define the relationships around me. I lean on you to continue reminding me of my true identity when I lose my way.
In Jesus’ mighty name,
Amen