Who Am I?ናሙና

You witness a car accident, and a person in a police uniform arrives. You immediately know that they are trained to offer assistance.

You see a doctor wearing scrubs and carrying a stethoscope, and you know you can approach them for medical help.

That’s how it is with identity. A person’s identity is often visible, affecting 1) what they do and 2) what we do in response to them.

That is one of the reasons why understanding who we are is so critically important: it affects just about everything!

If we allow culture or our moods to define our identity, what we do with our lives will feel like an ever-moving target. Confusion and frustration often result.

No, we need a more reliable, unchanging source for our identity than social norms and shifting emotions.

We have already learned that we are chosen by God. He has set us apart (that is what holy means). John 15:16 even tells us, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.”

Let’s define that identity in Christ. Put simply, our identity in Christ is 1) who God says you are in His Word and 2) what He has called you to do as empowered by His Spirit.

Let’s revisit our police officer in uniform example. The uniform is intentional. You can see that they are an officer. They are visible in a crowd.

Similarly, our identity in Christ should make us look different from the world. We WILL stand out in the crowd. Romans 12:2 says, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Believer, do you try to look like the world around you to fit in somehow?

Remember, your identity in Christ makes you different from everyone else. As hard as that may be sometimes, remember that a servant is not greater than his master. Jesus was different, and we will be too. Embrace your uniqueness as a follower of Jesus.

Radically read your Word every day. Audaciously obey it. Celebrate your identity in Christ.