A person’s
identity is who they are; it is what sets them apart from everyone else. Who
are you? Who do you claim to be? Do people know you, and does their knowledge
of you match who you claim to be? Don’t make room for them to assume who you
are, and don’t make room for them to guess, but if they do guess, make it
possible for them to guess correctly. Just be yourself!
For example,
if you see an individual with a stethoscope around his/her neck, you could
assume he/she is a medical professional. If you see an individual in court,
wearing a robe, sitting behind the bench, and holding a gavel, you could assume
he/she is the judge.
In our
natural world, everyone has parents. So it is in the spiritual world. You either have God or Satan for a father. Do
you call yourself a child of God? If you do, then be a child of God. When you
meet people, do they notice something about you that causes them to assume or
guess you are a Christian, or will they be uncertain? If they don’t think you
are a child of God, you are left with only one other option: they must think
you are a child of the devil. But if you are a Christian, then there is
something wrong with your identity. What is it?
If you
became a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ, then who you are should be
obvious to people around you. If you live a life of obedience to God, you will
in essence be saying you love Him (Jn 14:15). On the other hand, if you are
living in disobedience, people can quickly tell you are not a Christian, even if
you claim to be one.
Jesus is not
interested in lip service, and He made that plain to the disciples when He
asked them, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not what I say” (Lk
6:46)? When Jesus was warning against false prophets, He said, “By their fruit
you’ll recognize them. Do people pick
grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears
good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit,
and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit” (Mt 7:16-18).
If you are a
child of God, the characteristics (fruit) you exhibit should be a clear
indication that you are His son or daughter. There is no better way of
demonstrating that you are child of God than through obedience. The Bible says,
“Be holy for I am holy.” In other words, we should exhibit His trait of
holiness in the way we live.
Developing
those traits is an ongoing effort. We do not arrive at holiness overnight.
According to the apostle Paul, we have to work at it with fear and trembling
(Php 2:12b). It takes meditation on God’s Word and allowing it to transform us
into His nature through the renewing of our mind. Then we will shine, as the
Scripture says, like stars in the universe (Php 2:15b).
Observing
the lives of the disciples, the Jewish leaders were able to accurately conclude
that they had been with Jesus. If we indeed have been with Jesus, it should be
obvious to others. Claiming to be a Christian and yet living as an unbeliever
is proof of an identity crisis. It means one is not really sure who one is.
We need to
turn our backs on worldliness and all appearances of evil. A Christian cannot
live comfortably in sin. If you are, then you need to revisit God’s plan of
salvation to make sure you are really born again. If we fall into sin, we should
quickly repent, confess, and seek forgiveness. That is the mark of a Christian:
fear of sin.
Are you
experiencing an identity crisis? You can change that by making the
determination to live a life that is pleasing to God, and then seeking the help
of the Spirit to accomplish it. Let’s put on the armor of God and keep it on
24/7.
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