Children of Light: How to Live Your New Identityনমুনা

Jesus Gives Us a New Identity

Jesus is the Light of the World and He’s inviting us to become like Him. Jesus’ identity informs His activity. He’s the Light who shines in the darkness and is not overcome by it. He sets captives free.

He doesn’t hoard the light or the victory—He gives it away, freely. He rescues people out of darkness and brings them into His light. He gives us a new identity.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 1 Peter 2:9-10 NIV

Once, we were not a people. Now, we are people who belong to Jesus! Once, we had not received mercy, but now we live in light of the greatest gift of mercy in all of history!

If this is news for you, we want you to know that this invitation is still on the table—your invitation out of darkness and into the life you were made for. Your identity doesn’t need to be mysterious or hard to find—it comes from Jesus, who calls you chosen, special, and holy. Your purpose doesn't have to be muddy and unclear; it’s straightforward: declare the praises of the One who called you out of darkness and into His light. When we find our life in Jesus, something really special happens:

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16 NIV

Jesus says this to His followers in His most famous set of teachings—the Sermon on the Mount. We know Jesus is the Light of the World, but here He’s telling us we are too! He’s inviting us to become like Him, to take on His identity and His activity. He came to seek and save the lost and bring them home again, back to the Father. Like Jesus, our light can shine before others as a signpost back to our heavenly Father.

So what do you do? You just keep walking with Jesus.

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 1 John 1:5-7 NIV

On the final day of this Plan, we’ll talk about how our identity from Jesus informs our activity in this world. But before we get there, it’d be a mistake not to talk about how to know if you are walking with Jesus—like, for sure. How can you know?

That’s what the Scripture from 1 John is all about. If we say one thing—that we are walking with God—but we still walk in darkness, then we lie and the truth isn’t in us. Later on in this letter, John makes it more concrete:

Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them. 1 John 2:9-11 NIV

Don’t be blinded by darkness. Jesus gave us a clear command when He said to “... Love each other as I have loved you” (John 15:12). Obedience to that command is how we align ourselves with Him—but, it’s hard. It takes submission and surrender. Like, you are going to have to forgive some people you don’t want to forgive. You’re going to have to let go of your desire to get even. You’re going to have to put down the goal of being the most important person in the room. But living in the light is better and more hopeful than you can imagine.

So how can you know—really know—if you are walking with Jesus in the light? By how you love others.

Journal/Pray: How are you doing at loving others? Even just today, if you had to rate yourself on a scale of 1–10 (1 being “not loving people like Jesus at all” and 10 being “loving every person you encountered the same way Jesus does”), what would you say and why? What’s one thing you could do tomorrow to move you closer to a 10?

Prayer: Jesus, I want to walk in the light like You are in the light and live in the new identity You have given me. I need Your help to love people selflessly like You do. Would You help me see them as You see them and think about them as You think about them, so that I can treat them as You treat them? I trust that Your way of life is better and more hopeful than stumbling around in the dark. So, I will put down my desires and follow You. Amen.