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Once a week I spend time with a few women at Rescue the Children. Through the 18-month program there, these women learn about God and His Word, as well as basic life skills, to help transition back into the community as they come out of incarceration or addiction.
I have the privilege of walking these women through the book of Ephesians, which is all about who we are in Christ and how we are to live in light of that. The first day I asked them the questions:
“What defines you?”
“Who do you say you are?”
I had them make a list of things that define them, ways they would describe themselves and what they would consider their identity.
We all shared words about our heritage, our physical appearance, our personalities and our sin. These make us who we are.
Then we opened up Ephesians 1 and read words like:
Saint
Loved
Adopted
Chosen
Forgiven
Redeemed
Graced
Beloved
None of these words were on their first list. None of them used these words to define their identity.
Identity matters. God purposefully teaches us this from the very beginning, through Imago Dei (Genesis 1:26-28). We were created in God’s image to bear God’s image, and when we mar God’s image, we are redeemed through Christ. We are redeemed to tell our stories to point to His greater story.
When we don’t understand our identity, we won’t live life the way God fully intends. If we still believe our past defines us, we won’t be able to find freedom in our present. If we don’t understand we are loved and forgiven, we won’t be able to love and forgive others. If we don’t realize we are image bearers, then our image will always be something we try to project rather than who we reflect.
So often, I live out of my own idea of my identity rather than what God says about me. I am prone to believe my identity is in what I’ve done rather than who God says I am. The gospel means we are forgiven and made new. We die to our old selves, and we are raised to new life. This new life, this new identity, becomes who we are and influences how we live.
Who do you say you are?
What defines you?
Would your list be sins from the past? Your personality? Your career? Your marital status? The car you drive?
Or is your identity in who God says you are?
Understanding your identity as a child of God matters. Your past does not define you. Your present does not have to control you. Your future hope in Christ does.
See for yourself. Go through Ephesians 1 and read what God says about you. Then live in light of that—full of hope, completely forgiven and free, no longer enslaved to sin or people pleasing or keeping up with the Joneses. You are made new and pure before God. You are loved, forgiven and set free.
Find freedom from sin and suffering by focusing on Christ’s redeeming work and who you are in Him through a ReGeneration Group.
For honest testimony from some women learning about their identities, visit the series Who Do You Think You Are at selftalkthegospel.com.