Identity is a hot button topic in the world right now. Identity has become just a classification that expresses what we are. The world is stranger than I have ever remembered. Human beings have figured that they can just decide what they are. I am not about to get into the muddy waters of the worlds thoughts on identity but I do want to ask some questions.

Have you every wondered, “why you are alive?”

Have you ever asked, “what’s my purpose?”

Have you ever asked, “do I even matter?”

If you have, and I might add, we all have. I would like to suggests that if we don’t know why we are alive, what our purpose is, and if we even matter then maybe we shouldn’t be deciding what we are?

GOD HAS THE RIGHT TO DECIDE

and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Matthew 3:17

When Jesus came to this earth and was baptized, God the Father, said over Him, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” From this simple, yet incredibly powerful sentence, we can know a few important things about Jesus.

1. Jesus is dearly loved by the Father. – This directly answers the question of “Why am I alive?” … the Father loved Him.
2. Jesus is the Son of the Father. – This answers the questions of “What is my purpose?” …Jesus over and over said that the Son does the will of His Father. That was His purpose.
3. The Father was well pleased with Jesus. – This answers the question, “Do I matter?” ..Jesus’s Father was well pleased with Him and He highly favored Him above all things in heaven and earth.

Jesus knew who He was because He knew who His Father was. God the Creator of all things and of us, knows who we are. His desire is for you to know that too.

SOME ASPECTS OF OUR IDENTITY

We are children of promise: The new covenant is a promise that started way back with Abraham. God told Abraham that his descendants would be a numerous as the stars in the sky. Every person who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation is considered a child of promise.

Now you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise.

Galatians 4:28

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.

John 1:12

God, Himself set the terms of this promise. If you believe in Jesus, you are a child of God-a child of promise. This aspect of our identity lets us off the hook of trying to figure life out on our own. We don’t have to try to settle things for ourselves. We have a Father in Heaven that says, “This is my beloved child, in whom I am well pleased.” He can be trusted to walk us through this life.

2. We are Free: Free to what? Free to love. Before believing in Jesus, my idea of love was “give me what I want!” My gauge of if I was loved was based on how good I felt in circumstances and how well I thought people treated me. Like the Israelite’s, who after God freed them from bondage to the Egyptians, began to stress out over all the changes and complained openly about God. So much so, that they were crying over the food they missed. They behaved like they were ungrateful children but I wonder if under that ingratitude was fear and insecurity of if they were loved. All the lovely things of this world were gone and they were now in the desert. We often base our worth and belovedness on if circumstances are good or not. This just isn’t reliable.

In Christ, we have been made free to love by His grace. The Bible tells us that faith works by love. I am free from having to do everything right or perfectly because I can’t. Often, when I am in a season of change I too begin to whine about my circumstances and start to question if I am loved. This aspect of my identity in Christ, sets me free and by grace, I am able to love God with all my heart, soul and mind. And love my neighbor as myself.

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved  you.

John 15:12

I look around at my life and I see all the busyness. I have often found myself wear busy like it is a badge. Busy is a way that the enemy has successful got me away from loving people because well.. I am busy. All the tasks and things that have to get done. Plus all the busy things just keep calling and coming. Busyness is so heavy that it makes me feel like I have enough of my own stuff to bear let alone voluntarily entering into someone else’s burdens.

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Galatians 6:2

We are not called to self-care but we are called to bear one another’s burdens. To walk along side each other, to help each other, to assist each other when life is hard, to encourage in times of faltering faith, and to support each other in times of weakness.

What we are- determines so much about us.

What we believe- determines or limits what is possible for us.

Who decides? You? People? God?

All is Grace,

Starla