Permission to Live FreeShembull

If you want to see what it looks like to live a life of permission, look at Jesus. In every moment He owned who He was and why He came to earth as a baby, fully God yet fully human. He never released His firm grip on His identity as God’s beloved Son.

At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, people who He’d grown up with mocked Him by asking, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” (Luke 4:22). You can almost hear them asking, “Who’s your daddy?” But Jesus knew exactly who He was.

When these same people tried to toss him off a cliff (Luke 4:29), furious that He claimed to be a prophet, Jesus was unconcerned. He didn’t need the approval of others because He knew who He was.

When religious leaders threw shade at Jesus for spending time with sinners (Luke 5:30), implying that He couldn’t be holy, Jesus ignored them. He knew exactly who He was.

When religious leaders interrogated Jesus, trying to trip him up to prove He wasn’t God’s son (Luke 11:53), Jesus wasn’t moved by their badgering. He didn’t need to prove Himself because He knew exactly who He was.

When Jesus entered the temple to cast out those who were desecrating His Father’s house (Luke 19:45), He was filled with passion for the sake of His Father’s name. That’s because Jesus knew exactly who He was.

When Jesus was betrayed by His friend Judas (Luke 22:4), a betrayal that put Jesus in danger, He never questioned His identity. Jesus knew exactly who He was.

And in His final hours, as a mob cried for Jesus’ execution (Luke 23:23), He could have denied who He was. He could have saved His own life by pretending He wasn’t God’s Son. But Jesus was so very clear about His identity—as God’s beloved Son—that He suffered and died for the sake of clinging to the truth of that identity! . . .

So when I challenge you to be precisely and fully who God created you to be, you can have the confidence that Jesus has walked this path ahead of you. Jesus knows what it’s like when the world tells you that you’re someone other than who you are. And He’s modeled for us what it looks like to embrace exactly who God made us to be.

Prayer

Lord, thank You for reminding me that You stood boldly and confidently even when You were abused and betrayed. Please help me to find that same courage and confidence. Amen.