Let me see your ID!

My name is Jerry Scott. I am a Christ-follower, a Dad, a pastor of a local church, an American … all descriptors of something called “identity.”  Those things, and so many more, shape the person I am, making me a unique individual.  Knowing ourselves, having an honest estimate our identity, is a very important part of living well. It is not just about your name, it’s about who you think you are.  Most of the choices we make are based on what we think about ourselves. When choices and identity are aligned, we know peace. If we are forcing ourselves to do things that are not in harmony with our sense of identity, there will be inner conflict. The larger the gap between what we believe about our identity and the way we live, the greater our turmoil.  

Here is how Peter describes the identity of those who are Christian: "You are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. “Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.” (1 Peter 2:9-10, NLT)

My prayer is that as we come to Christ in faith the Spirit will reshape us around these amazing ideas of identity!

Chosen people! We did not stumble into this by some stroke of ‘good luck.’ God made a plan to save us, in His will that is beyond our human comprehension, He extended love to us and invited us to receive it.

Royal priests!  We are invested with the responsibility to represent Him to our world, to become bridges that close the chasm between those who are estranged from the Father because of sin. What a privilege we have to be agents of peace.

Holy nation!   No, this has nothing to do with any king or country.  God’s Church is a company, a gathering, a congregation that exists for His purposes. Our highest goal is not our personal agenda, but His!

God’s possession!  Older translations call us, a ‘peculiar people.’  The word has come to mean odd or weird, but used to mean different in a treasured sort of way.  And, we are treasured by God, those in whom He delights.

We make a terrible mistake if we use those descriptors to become prideful, exclusive, and self-interested. He gave us this amazing identity so that we can display His goodness, so that our lives will be an invitation for those outside of faith to know Him.  Is your definition of your Christian identity accurate to what God says?  Are you thoughts, words, and actions aligned with that identity?   Remember, we are ‘born again’ of the Spirit, by faith in Jesus Christ. There is to be a marked transformation that grows out of what He says about us, what He does in us.

What do you believe about your identity? 
Who is telling you who you are? 
Why not take the word of your Creator?

Here is a word from the Word.  I pray it will come as a revelation - soul deep, mind changing, and life transforming – to each one of us.  I pray "that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:17-19, The Message)

___________

No Longer Slaves
(listen and worship)

You unravel me with a melody

You surround me with a song

Of deliverance from my enemies

Till all my fears are gone

I'm no longer a slave to fear

I am a child of God

I'm no longer a slave to fear

I am a child of God

From my Mother's womb

You have chosen me

Love has called my name

I've been born again into Your family

Your blood flows through my veins

You split the sea so I could walk right through it

My fears were drowned in perfect love

You rescued me so I could stand and sing

I am a child of God

Brian Johnson | Joel Case | Jonathan David Helser

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