Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Who Am I?

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!

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