I have been thinking a lot about identity lately. Maybe it is because my sweet boy is turning 10 this week. I keep thinking where in the world has a decade gone?.
I have spent a lot of years being identified as “so and so’s mom”. Prior to that I was identified by my connection to my husband or connection to the family I was raised in.
Maybe you can relate.
While there is absolutely nothing wrong with these identifications, sometimes I have felt like the princess in the Disney movies desiring to find my way on my own.
As I have thought about this and the culture we live in, I realized how many different things identify us. Sadly, if we let them, they can define us.
Circumstances can become the springboard for how we identify ourselves. They can determine our mindset and emotions. They can unfortunately define our personality.
For example
When I became a mom of boys-I identified as a mom with boys
As a daughter whose father died of a heart attack-I became a statistic of coronary disease
As a teacher I identify with the working woman or those in the education profession.
We tend to identify with those around us who go through similar circumstances. We cling to them because they get it and in some way we share the same dirt together.
As humans we enjoy common ground and feel like we belong in some way when we have others we can relate to.
While there is absolutely nothing wrong with this, and we even can have sweet fellowship and beautiful relationships spring from this, the problem lies in allowing this identity to become who we say we are, rather than believing who God says we are.
Jesus had a lot to say about identity. Part of his entire mission He set out to accomplish on earth was to help humans understand that their identity is wrapped up in His claims for us.
Mark 10:14
…Do not hinder them [children] for to such belongs the kingdom of God”.
Ephesians 2:19
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
Philippians 3:20
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ
Psalm 16:6
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
When we put our unbridled faith in Him and lean into Him with all our insecurities, He transforms our way of thinking. Jesus died for each one of us so that we would have a secure identity in Him. An identity that never changes and always is the same, no matter the situation.
We go from being alone to being loved.
We go from being fearful to being secure.
We go from not belonging to having an eternal future.
We go from a difficult relationship to being able to show love and kindness.
We go from heart chaos into heart peacefulness.
A life with Jesus, no matter the circumstances sets us up for an identity that nothing else can compare to.
When all is said and done, let us be people who others look at and say first “That one belonged to Jesus”. I don’t know about you, but this is the best identity we could ever have and it is beautiful!
Love you!
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