Habits of HolinessSample

Don’t Forget to Remember

So if holiness is the identity we live from and the calling we get to live out, how many of us are trying so hard to get something we already have? See, if you’ve given your life to Jesus, you are holy. You have been given the very righteousness of Christ. You have the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead living inside of you, sealing you, setting you apart for eternity. But a lot of us are stuck in this cycle of trying to earn affection and approval because we forget to remember our identity. 

If you don’t know that 1 Peter 2:9-10 is who you are (holy, chosen, called, forgiven), you’ll spend your life chasing something you already have. And that’s exactly what your enemy wants. He would love for you to chase what you already have instead of stepping into the power and calling that you’ve been given. This is not a new concept. In fact, it was part of Satan’s strategy for deceiving Adam and Eve at the beginning. Watch what he says in Genesis 3: 

“For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God …” Genesis 3:5 NIV

You will be like God, the serpent entices. But here’s the thing: Adam and Eve were already as like God as they could be! They were literally made in His image, formed by His hands, His breath was in their lungs, and daily they walked by His side. 

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27 NIV

Satan tricked Eve and her husband into chasing something they already had: imago dei, the image of God. And we, as human beings, have struggled to remember who we are ever since. 

And think of how forgetting who we are has distorted our view of romantic/sexual relationships. There is so much hurt and shame surrounding the subject. People go further than they ever intend to go because they’re stuck chasing the affection and approval they already have in Christ. They use their bodies as commodities and use other people the same way because of this warped idea of where our value actually comes from. It doesn’t come from what other people think about us, it comes from the image of God inside us. 

So, when Jesus came, He had to remind us what it means to be human, and He did so by perfectly representing our holy God to the world. He restored our ability to walk out our God-given identity by healing our relationship with our Maker. It’s no wonder that the author of Hebrews challenges us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. Because when we really see Him and who He is, we begin to see ourselves as we really are.