Created to BeSýnishorn

Finding Identity and Purpose

By Tom Lane

Several years ago, I sat with a young woman who was waiting on her fiancé to join her for their premarriage counseling appointment with me. Upon his arrival, the young man apologized for being late and commented how this day marked his one-year anniversary with his employer and how it was the longest he had ever been with one company. When I asked him why he hadn’t worked for anyone longer than a year, he shrugged his shoulders and said, “I don’t know.” However, the answer became clear as we began to process his past, and he talked about an incident with his father that had a major impact on how he views himself. 

One night when he was younger, he went into the garage to spend time with his dad who was working on a car. From under the car, his dad asked him to get a tool. He wasn’t familiar with what his dad was asking for, so he guessed. His dad took one look at the wrong tool, threw it, and angrily told his son if that was all he knew about tools, he didn’t belong in a garage—he belonged in the kitchen with his mom! He didn’t receive any training from his father, and he definitely wasn’t nurtured or encouraged. Instead, his father just heaped disappointment and failure on him. It was obvious this experience left him confused and insecure in his ability to succeed in risky and unfamiliar situations.

Just like this young man, we’re all born into a family; yet, not all families are the same at developing and caring for their family members. Family is meant to provide a firm foundation for life, nurturing and training us to fulfill our purposes. Without a foundation of belonging, how can we expect to know who we are or what we were created to do?

The good news is when we come into relationship with Jesus Christ, we are adopted into the family of God. As our Father, God is committed to training and nurturing us while He shows us His purpose for us. Our relationship with Christ introduces us to a new identity—our true identity. We don’t have to worry about being ridiculed or rejected, because God accepts all who come to Him. 

Through our relationship with Jesus Christ, we have roots, history, and a whole new sense of belonging as sons and daughters of God. Do you feel alone and lost without identity or purpose? Step into all Jesus Christ has for you and become part of God’s family. You will come to understand you are a son or daughter of God and will find purpose in representing Him and advancing His kingdom.

Prayer

Thank You Father for adopting me into Your family. Thank You for giving me identity and purpose. I receive Your name today as I walk in Your plan for my life! In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Memory Verse

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! 1 John 3:1 (NIV)