Identity 101

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” Romans 8:14-15

Our  behavior isn’t who we are, but that’s not the way we tend to tell it. More often than not, we identify people with their behavior and all that does is condemn them to a cycle of the same behavior – over and over. This world would have us believe that we earn our identity, but that’s not what scripture says. Our behavior is simply an acting out of who we think we are, which rarely ever matches up to who we really are. Too few of us know who we really are; those who don’t are constantly striving and battling to become more but unsure how. They are always under pressure to be more and do more. 

 

Identity comes before behavior. In the book The Good and Beautiful Community by James Bryan Smith, he says, “We tell people what they must do find out who they are. Paul (in Colossians) does the opposite: he tells them who they are and how they should live. The more we grow into the story, the more the story grows into us…The main point is that the story and the identity it creates must take the lead in changing our behavior and not the reverse, which is so common. In this world we determine identity on the basis of behavior, which leads to frustration and legalism.” 

 

This statement led me to think about the way Jesus handles me, and how He handled me before change began. He began by telling me who He is and as I began to believe that, He told me who I am. And each time I mess up, make a bad decision or behave wrongly He points me back on track by reminding me who I am in Him. He doesn’t shame me for messing up but as He brings my sin to the forefront, reminds me that I am not that sin and redirects me to the path of who I was created to be. 

I don’t have to strive or beat myself up. I don’t have to pull along  an overloaded cart. And there is no fear of growth when God is the teacher because there is endless grace for my endless mess-ups, and it is that grace that keeps bringing me back on track.  I simply have to follow and listen. 

My strength is in Him. That strength is best put to use when I believe who He is and who He says I am above anything else coming from anyone else. My identity in Him must be how I see myself if I am going to have the courage and strength to ward off the enemies schemes of shutting me up and closing me down.

 

A warrior who doesn’t know who he/she or is isn't prepared for warriorship. A warrior who doesn't see their own strengths and weaknesses won't last long and is setup for failure. With every role, comes a certain foundation of knowledge necessary to complete the duties assigned. And so we have to see ourselves realistically- through God's eyes if we'e going through be prepared for battle. 

The enemy already knows God makes us strong and powerful warriors even when we don't see it. He knows God has powerful callings for us, which was why he rebelled to start with. And the way he often attacks is by causing us to question who we really are. He causes us to have self-hate so we can be too bottled up to love ourselves, much less anyone else. Or he may whisper lies to us to cause us to believe we are enough and without any need for God and that we have more power than we really do. He wants us to seek independence from God because that is where we're vulnerable. 

He isn’t only attacking who we are, but who we are becoming because out of that comes what we'll do. He wins when we quit, do nothing and believe lies. Therefore, if we are going to be proper warriors, we must know and believe the truth. For faith is the activation of our callings and our callings- every single of of them- are a necessary part of this war.