So much of our lives is spent trying to make a name for ourselves. As children, the approval and acceptation of our parents or other role models is what first drives us. In high school, we worry about our social image and what our friends and peers are thinking of us. In college, we dive into choosing a major and career-searching because we identify ourselves by what we are studying and what our plan is for our futures. In adulthood, we may find our identity in our job, our family, our social status, or the activities we participate in.
All my life, when people have asked me about myself, I have always had a good answer for them from the world’s perspective. I am the youngest child in my family. I am a volleyball player. I am a musician who plays flute, piccolo, and piano. I am a straight-A student. I am a Spanish-education major with a licensure in ESL. I am a world-traveler. I am a teacher.
As a Christian, I have also been able to claim my identity in Christ. But unlike the other things I have identified with, being a Christian comes with a depth of implications that cause my worldly identities to pale in comparison. This month on the Race, those implications are being brought into the light and I am learning to have a new confidence in who I am, not because I have earned any degree of respect on my own accord, but because of Who is inside of me.
Ephesians 5 tells me I am married to Christ. In that action, I have taken on His name. I no longer find my identity in what I did before. Those things may still be worthwhile and fun and enjoyable, but they will fail me at some point, or I will fail in them and no longer be able to claim them as my own. Christ, however, will forever by mine and I will forever be His. I belong to Him. Romans 8:38 describes this picture, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” My marriage with Christ will never be broken nor will His love ever be taken from me. What a comfort to know the foundation of my new self will never be shaken!
Here are some other verses that remind me of who I am in Jesus Christ:
- I am a daughter of God. (Colossians 1:13)
- I am holy and cleansed from the dirty things of my life. I am without blemish. (Ephesians 5:26-27)
- I am made new. I don’t have to feel guilty or ashamed of anything in my past. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
- I am not condemned. I am free from sin. (Romans 6:6)
- I have the power of the Holy Spirit living inside me. (1 Corinthians 6:19)
Understanding who we are brings freedom to live according to our purpose in life. Only by recognizing the truth of the One whose Name we have taken on will we find real confidence in who we are.
