It seems we live in a world where many are deeply confused about who they are. For this reason, they seek to craft their identity by a wide-variety of things. For some they find their identity in their skills. For others it is their occupation. Still others choose to define their identity by a political party or some culturally acceptable cause. But is that really where one should search for their identity?
Consider for a moment — who does God say you are?
That sounds like a twist on the question Jesus asked His disciples in Mark chapter 8. In that well known story (told in three of the four gospels), Jesus asks His disciples to clarify who the people of His day believed Him to be. This wasn’t because He was experiencing an “identity crisis”, but rather seeking to clarify their understanding of His divine identity.
Jesus understand, knowing who we are helps to clarify why we are here. Moreover, it points us to our purpose. The apostle Paul states in Ephesians 1:11 (MSG), “It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us,…(and)…designs on us for glorious living…”
If we seek to define our identity in anyone or anything other than Jesus (our creator), we miss the mark and err deeply. The results of which will lead us into great confusion and unfathomable disappointment.
So, who does God say you are? Among other things, He declares you (if you are “In Christ”), to be loved, forgiven, and accepted.
— Regarding His love for you, God states in Jeremiah 31:3 (NIV), “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.”
— Regarding His forgiveness, Paul tells us, “In Christ we are set free by the blood of his death, and so we have forgiveness of sins. How rich is God’s grace” (Ephesians 1:7. NIV).
— Regarding His acceptance of us, Paul declares that Jesus made us fully accepted through the His sacrifice on the cross. In 2 Corinthians 5:21 he writes, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (NIV). He would support this in his letter to Titus — saying, “Jesus treated us much better than we deserve. He made us acceptable to God and gave us the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:7. CEV).
When it comes to your identity, God unequivocally proclaims: YOU ARE DEEPLY LOVED, COMPLETELY FORGIVEN, and FULLY ACCEPTED! Reflect on those powerful thoughts. Allow them to seep deep into your heart and find confidence and contentment in knowing both who you are as well as who’s you are “in Christ!”
I would rather be what God chose to make me than the most glorious creature that I could think of; for to have been thought about, born in God’s thought, and then made by God, is the dearest, grandest and most precious thing in all thinking.
George MacDonald