What is your identity?

Some couples already know how they want to call their future children when they get married. For most parents-to-be, however, finding a name is a time-consuming and extremely stressful process, during which they look through endless lists of names and their meanings to find the perfect name for their child. After all, a name should not only sound nice, it should also give a child its identity. And just as our human parents followed our growth in our mother's womb, our heavenly Father looked at us with love and anticipation long before we were born. He knew exactly who we would be long before we took our first breath. As his children, we have identity and authority.

But identity is so much more than just a name and its meaning. We can have great names, names that predict a great future for us, but instead of inspiring us, they weigh us down. What happens when we don't know exactly who we are? When we don't know where our path is taking us or what our purpose is? Or even worse: when we think we know what our purpose is, but it seems too big for us and we repeatedly fail?

The Bible is full of people who were unsure of their identity. One of them was Zacchaeus, a powerful tax collector who had enriched himself from the Israelites and who desperately wanted to see Jesus. However, as Zacchaeus was small, he could not see over the crowd and so he climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus. As Jesus passed by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name: Zacchaeus.

That may not sound spectacular to you, how else should Jesus call him if not by his name? But the meaning of Zacchaeus is "to be innocent" or "to be pure". By calling Zacchaeus by his name, Jesus pronounced identity over him. An identity that stood in stark contrast to the lifestyle of the tax collector. Why did Jesus do this? And why did he then give Zacchaeus the honor of going into his house and being allowed to receive and entertain the Son of God there as a guest? Jesus calls us by name because he knows our potential better than anyone else. He has placed all our gifts and talents within us and by reminding us of our name, he speaks our identity over us and reminds us that he has great plans for us and that he will reach his goal with us, no matter how often we fail. Because we are allowed to call Jesus by his name and this name means "the Lord saves", "the Lord heals" and "the Lord helps" - that is his identity. Jesus did not set any preconditions, he met you with exactly the same acceptance and love with which he met Zacchaeus. Because your destiny is to be God's child - that is your identity. Do you accept it?

Next Step: God calls you by name. What does it mean for you to call God by his name?