Song of the Day
“Who You Say I Am” by Hillsong Worship
Scripture to reflect upon
- John 8:36,
- Romans 8:16,
- John 1:12-13,
- Romans 9:8,
- Ephesians 1:5,
- 1 Pet 2:9,
Devotional thought
There are two classifications for people in the world; children of the light or children of darkness. Or, you could also say; children of God or children of the world. These classifications will reveal your true identity.
Identity has many nuances, but at its core it really only comes down to some basic things. Things like; Gender, Family heritage, Race, Personality, and so-on. Now, there are certain things that you can identify with, but I don’t believe they make up your true identity. Things like; sexual orientation, occupation, political affiliation, and so-on.
These are things you do, but not necessarily who you are. And I believe that the crisis of identity we are experiencing in our culture is because we are allowing what we do or how we live to be the characterizing factors for our identity when it should be who we are and what we were created for that defines our true identity!
There is a more critical thing though that characterizes our identity, and that is our relationship with God. See, God is the One who defines our identity. He knows us as we are, not as we want to be or think we are. God sees us, knows us, and identifies us by our faith, or lack of it.
The Bible says that we were created (Gen 1:26-27), so our identity is one that took intentionality and planning. God took careful thought of not only how to create you and when to create you, but how to save you as well!
See, part of our identity is defined as being sinful. If you were to ask me to describe my identity, I would have to include sinner as part of the description. Not as something I do but as something that describes who I am. I am a depraved person who is bent toward sin, and not only me but every other person in this world too!
I need to do something about that part of my identity though, because that hinders me from living in the true identity that God wants for me and created me to live in. But how can I change that part of who I am? Well, I cannot change that part of me, but God is able to change it through a wonderful process called rebirth!
God makes me a new creation with a new identity when I come to Him by faith for salvation! I am no longer a child of sin and worldliness, but a child of God when I ask Him to save me through His Son, Jesus Christ! He calls me His very own when I receive Him and believe in His name, according to John 1:12-13. So, now I can identify myself as God’s child, forgiven, holy, dearly loved, recipient of His blessings, and so-on.
My physical identity doesn’t change, but my spiritual family and identity changes forever. God starts to tell me who I am and what I can identify as! He calls me royalty, tells me I am chosen by His grace, and adopts me into His family forever!
Please do not let the world or anything or anyone define who you are aside from God! Receive Him as your Father and live as His child and reject the temptation to identify with anything the world wants to characterize you as! If He has set you free, be free indeed and walk in your identity as His child!
Prayer
Lord, I praise You for giving me a true identity as Your child forever. Forgive me when I wrestle with the temptations of the world to identify as something else, and help me to overcome this tendency by the power of Your Spirit and truth of Your Word. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Memory Verse
