Wednesday, August 23, 2023
And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then God has made you an heir. Galatians 4:6
A True Identity
Recently I saw a meme that is the best one I have ever seen. It said -
“Satan: God will never forgive you.”
Me: “Oh I thought someone who was kicked out of heaven said something.”
Just think about that - he cannot snatch us out of the hand of God, but he can sure mess with us. More times than not, we believe the lies he whispers in our ears. Reflecting on this very basic piece of information about him, why do we give his words such power over us? The reason is just as basic. We often do not feel worthy or that we could be forgiven for all the things so when he whispers, we subconsciously grab onto the words that we deep down believe to be true about ourselves.
We sometimes pay more attention to what the world says we are. The sting of rejection, whether real or perceived, keeps us trying to measure up to those around us and those we don’t even know on social media platforms. It is all about how we look to them. But what about our hearts? We cannot measure up to everyone’s standards. There is one standard that is the only one we need to believe in and aspire to.
For through faith you are all sons of God in Christ Jesus. Sons and Heirs. For those of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ. Galatians 3:26-27
When we become a Christian, we are instantly adopted by God - we are His child. Whoever we were before that moment is gone. We are His sons and daughters. Our faith - believing in Him as the Messiah, our Savior - and putting our trust in Him, now and for eternity, brings us into a special relationship with God. He is our loving and caring Father and our relationship with Him provides a place of care, affection, and closeness with the God of the universe.
Those who were baptized into Christ is a picture of baptism. When we are baptized by water, it is immersion. We are immersed in water. Being baptized by Christ is the same as being immersed in Him. Our whole life should be covered by Him and He is in every part, not just the parts we choose. If we cannot give it all to Him, we are not ready to be His son or daughter.
We are clothed with Christ as we put on His identity. We are identified by our relationship with Him. We are Christians and that should have an impact on how we think and act, and others should feel it too - not condemnation, but the love of Christ coming from us. That identity in Christ is the voice that we should listen to, not the world and not Satan - who, may I remind you again, was kicked out of heaven. Heaven in our inheritance and our Father reigns. His voice is the voice that speaks the truth of who we are. We don’t have to worry about measuring up because there is no way we ever can. But Jesus did it for us. God wants us just the way we are. He wants us to come to Him in our weakness and failures and find restoration in Him. We are His adopted children, joint heirs with Jesus.
As His heirs, we have a place in eternity - long after the voices of this world will be silenced in our ears. We have a place here on earth until then as a part of God’s family, brothers and sisters in Christ. We have a place in all of history as part of God’s plan for us and for the world.
So Who Am I? Who Are You? We are sons and daughters of God, family members with all the redeemed, past, present, and future. We are a part of the family of God and our Father says we are loved, redeemed, chosen, worthy, called, and His. In light of these words, nothing anyone else says really matters!
