Submitted
by David Miller
Therefore, if anyone is in
Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has
come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and
gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling
the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and
entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors
for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of
Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no
sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:17-21
Who am I? What significance do I hold? Why am I here? These are all questions that we have asked
ourselves from time to time. We often
struggle to know who we are so our identity is a quest in which we all
participate. We piece together our identity with things such as:
• Where we are from
• Where we went to school
• What we do for a living
• Achievements and accolades we have
received
• Our interest and hobbies
• Our clothing and what we drive
Some
of the factors that impact our identity are more passive. We know they are
there, but we don’t want to admit it. These are things we don’t really want
people to see, such as, the way we truly view ourselves:
• Things that have been done to us
• Things we have done that we are not
proud of
• The fears we hold
• The shame we carry
For
many, the identity we hold for ourselves becomes a tremendous burden and has
staggering consequences in how we view God and His church, the way we treat
others, and the priorities we hold dear. Everything we do, say, and think is
wrapped up in the way we view ourselves. But what if there was a different way?
What if our identity was not rooted in the way we view ourselves, but in the
way God views us? 2 Corinthians, as
stated above, shows us a different kind of identity. One that is not built on what we have done or
what we have acquired but rather, an identity based solely on what God has done
for us in Christ!
All
that truly matters is:
• Not who are you, but Whose are you.
• Not where are you from, but where are
you going.
• Not what you know, but Who you know.
• Not what have you achieved, but what
you have freely received.
There
is a new identity for those of us who are in Christ. The old is gone, it is
dead and it is buried. In Christ, you are given a new identity. You become the
righteousness of God. The very picture of His love and grace is a life that has
been reconciled to Him. In Christ, your identity is rooted and grounded in what
God has done for you in His love and grace! That, my friends, is a beautiful
identity!
