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Who are you? A powerful and life changing question to pose to ourselves. We see a lot in our world today about identity. Many things compete to tell us which aspect of our lives should be the primary marker of our identity. Your career, your family, your interests, your skills, your school, your hobbies and many other countless things could be used by you and others to define who you are.
None of the categories listed above can capture the entirety of who you are now or who you are meant to be in the future. Scripture tells us that all of the things we base our lives upon that are not Jesus Christ and His Word are nothing. All these other things that are so important to the world are only shadows of shadows that cannot compare to the Lord and His Light. Who would choose to follow after a shadow of a shadow when they could follow the Light? The painful answer to this question is that many choose the shadows because it is painful to look into the Light of Scripture and be changed by it. Transformation is the result of a life built on faith in Jesus Christ. We should be constantly transformed and changed by the Word of God. So, how do we build an identity worth living out?
We give up on our own identity and embrace a new one built on one thing. We live in the Word; our identity is in the Word and in Jesus Christ. We are not lessened by giving up our own identity for the identity of Jesus Christ. We are made complete by the Word of God and our faithfulness to it. First John 3:5 tells us this, "See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God."
We should embrace One Identity in this life, we are Children of God. We are made children of God in the Loving sacrifice of Jesus Christ and everything else is a byproduct of this love. When our identity is in Christ, we are filled with sacrificial love that does not know any limits. Love without limits is not possible for human hearts but Children of God washed in the blood of Jesus Christ are made new and are capable of loving others as Christ has loved us!
The person who would proclaim I am a Christian, I walk in the Way of Jesus Christ, and live out those words, this person will transform their identity, in this Way, they will learn to see themselves and others with love beyond limits. Let each of us strive faithfully for One Identity, One Love, One Message and One Lord of all.
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Finding Faith is written by area pastors. This week's column comes from Pastor Matt Kinley of First Church of Christ, Lock Haven.