When I was initially asked to write a blog, I was excited. When I was asked to write a blog about “identity in Jesus,” I was nervous and I kind of cringed. As just an ordinary human dude, I did not feel like I had any authority to speak on the subject. It was suggested that I write about my personal journey and walk with Jesus as I grew up. Okay…Makes sense…Fine…I will. But my story is not good enough…Unnnnggggh……
But then as I sat down to type, I was suddenly overwhelmed with an image of Father God. He was just watching me, smiling. I could see and feel His warm affection for me, His son. He was looking down on me with such love and adoration. I instantly knew that He was proud of me and He reassured me that what I was about to type was from Him. My eyes welled up and my fingers began to fly across the keyboard…. here we go…
Identity can be described as who we are. Identity can be what we are. Identity can be what we believe in and what we hold as truth. Often, we humans are asked to identify ourselves to a stranger when out in a public setting. We often respond with our name and our association with whichever person or group we are currently with. Who you are in a relationship with and how many offspring or “furry children” you possess is the next logical query. The follow-up question is usually about what we do for work and/or where we live. These identifiers give another person information so they can “get to know us.”
A name is what we are called at birth so as not to be beckoned with, “Hey you.” Our relationship status provides the interviewer with information about our love life and our availability, or lack-there-of, to a potentially-interested party. What we do for work indicates how we spend some of our time, how we make our money, and what tax bracket we may be in. Where we live gives the questioner a sense of direction and usually an indication of our “class status.” These things are common identifiers for our human selves as they pertain to the human world. However, the human world, and thus our human identity, is only temporary. These earthly “identifiers” do not truly define us.
Our identity in Jesus Christ overshadows our human identity…by more than a little bit. If our identity is defined by our name, let Father God call us by whatever name He has decided for us and let us run headlong into His arms. If we are to be identified by our associations, let us associate with saved and sinners alike. Let our relationships be loving for all persons as our brothers and sisters in Christ. Our work on this earth should be work for the less fortunate and downtrodden, work towards our calling from the Lord. Where we live should merely determine which people are closest in our proximity for us to reach and bring to Jesus. How we embrace these identifiers truly defines us and our identity in Christ, and our identity in Jesus Christ is eternal.
The Lord God has been watching over us and parenting us from the beginning of Creation. Father God looks after us lovingly. He watches us grow and He laughs adoringly when we bolster our human identity with earthly accomplishments. And even though He has much greater plans for us than our trivial earthly victories, Father God smiles down at us, scoops us up in a big hug, and hangs our messy fingerpainting of an accomplishment on the fridge.
Having an identity is not our way of showing others how unique and special we are. Humans often fall into the trap of comparing ourselves to others. How much money we make, how many material possessions we have, how tall or pretty we are, or how many friends or followers we have does not define our identity. Identity literally means, “same quality of being” or “quality of being identical.” We are all identically loved by our Father God. And God does not care about how many Instagram followers you have, but He thinks it is cute that you do.
Humans have always known God and listened to His commandments, for the most part. However, humans were and are flawed. We were sinners. We are sinners. Father God knew this and knew what He was in for when He gave us free will. And, like most children…we did not listen…we tested Him…we pushed the envelope to see what we could get away with…we did not hold His hand when instructed to… we disobeyed. God, as the parent above all other parents, knew that He had to make sacrifices for us. God knew that He had to do what was best for us, His children. So He sent us His son, Jesus. He sent us His son, Jesus, to suffer and die for us. Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice in death, so that we may live. It would be incredibly hard for us to fathom being a parent and knowingly sending your child to die for others, even if the others were also your children. But Father God did it anyway.
We as Christians are called to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. We are called to listen to His words and heed them. We are called to have “identity in Jesus Christ.” And if identity is who we are, what we are, and what we believe in….and we are called to have identity in Jesus…then we are called to BE like Jesus, and to BE a child of God. We are named “children of God,” we are given the opportunity to have pure and loving relationships with our siblings of this world, we are given work to do that furthers the Kingdom of Heaven, and we are paid every day in grace and mercy (even if we decide to take a “sick day”), and we are called to live, not in a physical location, but for eternity in Jesus. That is who and what we are called to be. Identically made, identically saved, and identically loved by Jesus.
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” – Jeremiah 1:5
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” – Ephesians 2:10
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” – Colossians 3:1-3
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NATE FOX is a ministry leader from Cleveland, Ohio. He has a heart to see others protected and encouraged while serving his community and family. Nate is newly married to his wife, Janella, and they are both currently serving the Lord in various ministries.
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