"Who are you?" Would your response include your name, age, your hobbies, or the city and state where you currently live? Your personal identity is often shaped by your early experiences in life. Maybe your parents said things to you as a child that were abusive, and made you feel worthless as God’s precious child.
Personal identity is one of the most important things to understand about ourselves. All these external things may be a part of you, but they aren’t your personal identification. They may be facts about who you are today. Ten years from now, many of your responses will be different. Knowing who we are means understanding what motivates us, what causes us laughter, brings us true joy, how we deal with conflicts, and even who we choose as friends.
Would you consider yourself a masterpiece as the dictionary defines it: as “something made or done with great skill.” Ephesians 2:10 (NLT) says, “For we are God’s masterpiece, He has created us anew in Christ Jesus so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” You are your Heavenly Father’s masterpiece. It’s in Him that your true identity is discovered. The Almighty understands your true worth. Remember, you are not the label others assign you. You are who your Heavenly Father says you are.
1.
You are not the sins of your past
mistakes. You are the righteousness of Christ:
“Whoever is a believer in Christ is a new creation. The
old way of living has disappeared. A new way of living has come into
existence.” (2
Corinthians 5:17,
GW)
“I would rather
surround myself with people who make a lot of mistakes and have no
problem admitting them, than surround myself with people who
think they make none. “ (fb/The Idealist)
2.
You are not your past roles. You are
an ambassador for Christ:.
“I was circumcised on
the eighth day. I’m a descendant of Israel. I’m from the tribe of Benjamin. I’m
a pure-blooded Hebrew. When it comes to following Jewish laws, I was a Pharisee. When
it comes to being enthusiastic, I was a persecutor of the church. When it comes
to winning God’s approval by obeying Jewish laws, I was perfect. These
things that I once considered valuable, I now consider worthless for Christ.
( It’s
far more than that! I consider everything else worthless because I’m much
better off knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. It’s because of him that I think of
everything as worthless. I threw it all away in order to gain Christ and to
have a relationship with him. This means that I didn’t receive God’s approval
by obeying his laws. The opposite is true! I have God’s approval through faith
in Christ. This is the approval that comes from God and is based on faith. “(Philippians
3:5-9, Paul,
GW)
“To be an ambassador for Christ means to invite everyone
to a personal encounter with Jesus.” (Pope Francis)
“Religion: ‘My identity is built on being a good
person.’ Gospel: ‘My identity is not built on my record or my performance, but
on Christ’s.’” (Timothy
Keller)[i]
[i] Inspired by the sermon “Living
Confidently in Your Identity” (installment four) Sunday April 22, 2018 Pastor
Dave Jansen CenterPoint Gahanna Church Gahanna, OH.
Additional sources used:
·
“What Is My Identity in Christ?” by 412teens .org
Additional sources used:
·
“Finding My Identity in Christ” -
by Joyce Meyer
·
“Masterpiece” by the Cambridge Dictionary
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