Identity

“Who am I?” “What is my identity?” Identity is the big push in our culture. But that’s nothing new. In the sixties wives and mothers were walking away from their families to “discover myself.” As psychology took a firm grip in the seventies, “knowing ourselves” became the cultural cry. I’m not sure we ever discovered anything worthwhile, we just turned all of our attention inward and brooded.
But identity is not entirely a bad thing. I believe it is important to understand who we are. Identity that recognizes one’s gifts and talents can encourage a lifelong goal. I was advised years ago by a wise friend to consider myself a writer and it spurred me to take writing seriously. We encourage Joy to think of herself as a dancer, a worship leader, or a preacher as she shows interest in all of those things. Yesterday she was a circus performer doing tricks on her trapeze. She is at that fun stage of self-discovery.
But identity has also become sorely twisted by the world as many allow sexuality or fantasy to shape who they are. Men choose to identify as women and women choose to identify as men – or as neither. High school students are identifying as animals. “This is who I am! You must accept me and accommodate me in my identity!” Worst of all, laws are being enacted demanding that the rest of us go along with their delusions.
The church is no exception. “Who I am in Christ” is a major theme in religious circles. It permeates popular Christian music and studies. It is big business for producers of kitschy Christian wall art, coffee cups, and t-shirts. Mind you, it’s not a bad thing for us to recognize that we are loved, saved, redeemed, chosen, blood-bought children of God. It really does give us Joy and hope and peace. As long as we remember why we are who we are.
I am loved because “God is love” (1 Jn 4:16). I am saved because the name of Jesus has power to save (Acts 4:12). I am redeemed because God is merciful (Rom 9:16). I am chosen because the Lord is gracious (Eph 1:11). I am a child of God because He claimed me as His own (1 Jn 3:1). I know who I am in Christ because my identity is Him. Don’t look within to find your identity. Look to the One who claimed you and saved you and made you His own. That, Beloved, is who you are.

Do You Know Who You Are?

I have several pet names for my granddaughter like “Pumpkin,” “Sunshine,” or “Sweetie Pie.” Every time I call her by any of those names she will say, “I’m not a Pumpkin/Sunshine/Sweetie Pie. I’m a SWEET GIRL!” From the day she was born, I’ve told her constantly, “You are a sweet girl,” so that she knows exactly who she is. I wonder if you know who you are?

You are God’s beloved child: “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 1:12-13). His is an unbreakable, unshakable, never-ending love (Romans 8:35-39).

You are chosen and adopted into His family forever: “We know, brothers [and sisters] loved by God, that He has chosen you . . . (1 Thess 1:4); “In love, He predestined us to be adopted as his sons [and daughters] through Christ Jesus (Eph 1:5).

You are His masterpiece: “God’s workmanship” (Eph 2:10), made in His image (Gen 1:26-27), continually being conformed to the likeness of His Son (Rom 8:29).

You are redeemed – purchased at a very high price: “It was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed . . . but with the precious blood of Christ, (1 Peter 1:18-19). That means you are very valuable.

You are a new person: “Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new creation; the old has gone the new has come” (2 Cor 5:17). You are accepted (Rom 15:7), one with Christ (Gal 3:27-28), God’s special possession (1 Pet 2:9). You are an heir (Gal 4:7), hidden in Christ (Col 3:1-3), baptized into Christ, clothed with Christ and one in Christ (Gal 3:26-29). And you are blessed (Eph 1:3).

I don’t do the “I’m a princess because my Daddy is the King” thing. But it is important to know your true identity in Christ for at least two reasons. First, the world and satan will try to make you doubt who you are and give you a different, false identity. You need to be as sure of yourself as my granddaughter is. And secondly, you need to act like who you are, which is another reason I remind her constantly that she is a “sweet girl.” Paul said, as a child of God we must put away our old identities and put on Christ (Rom 13:14). Why? Because, Beloved, THAT is who you are. Don’t forget it.

I Want to See Jesus

She called out my name – not the name “Beth” that folks in Tallahassee called me, but “Dorcas,” a name I hadn’t used since we left home a dozen years before. I was surprised that I would hear my “real” name. She said, “You haven’t seen me since I was a kid,” and then she told me who she was and everything clicked. Her family had lived next door to us for a few years and I had watched her and her brother a few times for her mother to run errands. I asked “How did you recognize me? It’s been so long and you were so young when we moved away.”  She hugged me and said, “I’d know that smile anywhere!”

People change so much – ask anyone who’s gone to their high-school reunion. I was so glad the reunion committee put our senior yearbook pictures on our name badges or I would have been completely lost. We all walked around with puzzled faces until we glanced down at the badge and – “Oh, it’s you!”

Heaven will be filled with faces both strange and familiar. I know I will be scanning the multitude, looking for my mom and dad and brother Jim and my friends Judy, Joey, Dorothy, Virginia, Mavis, Bob, and so many more. But there’s one Face I want most to see. One person who changed everything for me. I want to see Jesus. But how will I recognize Him?

The Bible gives no physical description other than “He had no beauty or majesty” (Isaiah 53:2). Nobody really knows what Jesus looked like and the paintings we have are not true representations of the Lord. I highly doubt he was a light-skinned, auburn-haired man with a chiseled, European face. True, we can make assumptions based on His nationality. But how many people will have the same olive complexion and middle-eastern features in heaven? Yet the Bible does say that we will recognize Him when we see Him. How? I imagine the crown on His head and His throne at the right hand of the Father and the glory that will emanate from Him will be big clues.  But there’s one other way. When He appeared to the disciples John said, “He showed them His hands and side [and] the disciples were overjoyed” (John 20:20). There be no doubt about which one is Jesus – we’ll know Him the same way they did – by His scars.

Who I am in Christ — or Whose?

There is a trend in Christianity that both excites me and makes me wary. “Discipleship” is the command of our Lord and Savior: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). Discipleship is Jesus’ marching orders for the church. But what are we to teach? Everything He commanded. Everything He taught. Everything He did. But above all, everything He is. The focus of all our teaching and discipleship should always be centered on Christ.

And that’s why I have had a wariness in my spirit. For the past several years the content of our discipleship, especially to women has taken a spiritually unhealthy turn.  This morning I was reading in Colossians, where Paul said: “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved . . .” (3:12) and immediately my mind went to the manta of women’s Bible studies: “Who I am in Christ.” Now, please don’t misunderstand me, I am all for us claiming our identity as sons and daughters of God. As one who grew up rejected by both sides of the kickball teams, it is a great comfort to know that I am chosen in Christ. Because my former husband said, “I don’t love you anymore,” it is a balm to my heart to know that I am dearly loved by God. But the focus has turned in recent years from awe at what God has done for a wretch like me, to how God has elevated me, to it’s all about me. It reminds me of an advertisement I heard once for a “Christian” talent agency whose tagline was “Become famous for God!” No! No! No! We make God famous, not ourselves.

All the verses that we claim as our identity labels, when taken in their full context, are teaching us who we are so that we can then walk appropriately. The rest of Colossians 3:12 says “clothes yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” Paul goes on to talk about forbearance (patience) and forgiveness and the unity that comes with love. He said, “because you are this, your character should be this.” The Scriptures never tell us “who we are” to boost our ego but to humble us in our relationships with one another and with Christ. When we pick out select words to focus on ourselves, we miss the point entirely.

Beloved, I encourage you to learn what the Bible says about you because above all else, you are God’s image-bearer. Now act like it.