Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Identity



There is so much talk of “identity” these days. The world sets a standard then tells us we either measure up or we don’t, then tries to give us a lot of negative identities (ugly, worthless, untalented, unwanted, etc.). God wants us to have the identity of HOLY ( the pure, spotless, special possession of the living God). Identity is the fact of being who we are. 

Through the sense of identity we develop our feelings of worthiness or shame, belonging or exclusion, hope or despair. 

Shame, dirtiness, unworthiness was dealt with at the cross. We are holy saints not by any action of our own, but the action of Christ on our behalf. It’s not an issue of morality, but of being – not of production but position.  It’s a way of saying we belong to God because of what Jesus has done for us! 

Identity always forms an action. If we see ourselves as unworthy, we act that way and vice versa. When we begin to see ourselves as holy, we begin to choose to act that way. If you have built your identity on something positive other than Christ – it’s unstable. If you have built your identity on something negative – it’s untrue. What is rock solid and true about you is that you are holy unto God (a saint), because of your faith in Christ! (The Holy One of God) 

The moment we embrace that as part of our identity, we are set on a lifelong journey of becoming who we are “holy.”