Hey everyone!! At the beginning of the semester, I was asked to write a paper for one of my classes about who I was as a person. This past week, my professor gave us our papers back and asked us to reflect on how we have changed over the last semester. I just wanted to share mine as an encouragement y’all because it was an encouragement to me during this busy season!!
“Who Am I?”
When a person is asked the question “Who are you?” they most commonly reply with their name. They may reveal their first name or even their last name if it contains importance to them. Either way, a person commonly finds their immediate identity in a few letters that have been joined to make a name. It is a habit of humans, including myself, to find the shortest, simplest, and least in-depth response to be the first thing that comes out of our mouths. Personally, I think that people don’t care to hear who I really am. In the hustle and bustle of today’s world I have learned that most people don’t really listen to my response. Many conversations that I have with people are just courteous conversations used to fill the awkward silence that is the in-between.
As a result of this non-authentic and constantly changing world that we live in I have learned that my identity isn’t found in my name or anything of the world, but in Christ. He is authentic. He is never changing. He was, and is, and is to come. He is compassionate, faithful, and generous. His love is incomprehensible. He is merciful and patient. He is wise and truthful. He is my refuge and I am His daughter that He cares for deeply. He is nothing like the people of this world, and that is refreshing for the soul. Because of Him I don’t have to find my identity in the world because He isn’t interested in how much money I make, what I look like, or what my major is. He cares about how I love those around me and how I share the Good News with the world.
As a result of finding my identity in Christ I can say that I am new. When I began a relationship with Him, I became a new creation just as Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!” (Christian Standard Bible, 2 Corinthians 5:17). This verse shows that when I came to Jesus Christ by faith, He made me new. However, this does not mean that I am perfect. This means that I have been changed and that I am constantly being changed through Him. I am still a human that makes wrong decisions, mistakes, and bad choices, but I am also being sanctified as I become more like Jesus.
Another result of finding my identity in Christ is knowing that I am loved. Although I am loved by family and friends, their love does not compare to the love that Jesus has for me. His love is perfect, unselfish, continual, unconditional, and nothing I do can separate me from His love. John writes in 1 John “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Christian Standard Bible, Romans 8:38-39). Therefore, in Christ I am loved and have no reason to fear that I will ever not be loved. It is a comfort to know this because people can go from loving you to hating you in an instant. If you forget an important date, disagree with an opinion, or forget to put your turn signal on you have the possibility of being hated. Human love is circumstantial, but Jesus’ is not.
Finally, in Christ I am saved. Because He sacrificed himself on the cross I am saved from sin, death, Satan, and my old self. Peter writes in 1 Peter “For Christ also suffered for sins once and for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God. He was put to death by the flesh but made alive by the Spirit…” (Christian Standard Bible 1 Peter 18). Through Jesus’ suffering on the cross I have been brought to God. I am saved from the suffering that will come when He comes back. The comfort that comes from Jesus on the cross is indescribable and should cause believers to turn their eyes only to Him.
To conclude, I am new, I am loved, and I am saved.
