Who Identifies You?

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. - Ephesians 2:10 NKJV

How confident are you with your identity in Christ? Are you secure in Him, no matter what others think about you? A while ago, it seemed like someone I value and respect threw a negative label at me. To be honest, it really bothered me. None of us like having a negative label put on us. Those labels can sting even more if they come from someone we trust. It brought up memories of other times people threw a negative label at me and I found myself going down a frustrated, angry rabbit hole. I took some time to pray, and the Lord spoke to my heart and asked me who I wanted to be defined by. Do I want to be defined by those who dislike me? Do I want to be defined by those who think I’m a pretty nice guy? In reality, we shouldn’t be defined by either of those choices. Those definitions can be pretty inaccurate and fleeting at best. We should seek to be defined by the One who knit us together in our mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13) and who calls us by our true name (Isaiah 43:1). We should be defined by our Heavenly Father. The more secure we are in Him, and who He declares us to be, the better we can navigate through the challenges and accusations thrown at us by those who don’t see us as God does. As we rest in our true identity in Christ we have peace no matter what others think about us. We have more confidence to make the changes He calls us to make, embrace His transformation process, and grow to be more and more like Him.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. - John 3:16 NIV

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I’m sure you’re very familiar with John 3:16. It was likely one of the first verses that you ever learned. It’s also a verse we need to be reminded of frequently. We might know this verse in our brains, but it’s important to know this verse in our hearts. God loves us. It doesn’t get am simpler than that. He also made a way for our salvation and transformation. These truths are among the important foundations of our faith. However, we are all very much a work in progress. We are constantly walking in the tension between who God declares that we are, and who we see when we look in the mirror. It is during our times of struggle that we need to remind ourselves of some of the basic foundations of our faith.

• 1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

• Hebrews 4:15-16 - For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.  Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

• Philippians 1:6 - Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

May these verses penetrate your heart and transform the way you see yourself. God doesn’t identify us according to our past sin, or even our present failures. He sees us through the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ who lives in us. May that truth give us the grace to live according to our true identity in Christ.

Thank you for partnering with Reconciliation Ministries to help others experience the transformational power of Jesus Christ. No one is beyond the power of the cross. No sin is more powerful than the resurrection power of Jesus Christ. Your prayers and financial support help men, women, and adolescents find the love of Christ in their lowest moments of sin and abuse. You can change a life by making a tax-deductible donation to Reconciliation Ministries online at www.recmin.org/donate. You can make an eternal difference in the lives of others.