Behavior and Identity

                                                                                                         

Aloha Dearest Children,                                             

                I really get a kick out of the Ancestry.com commercials. I especially like the one where a guy is telling us that he always thought that his family came from Germany. He was so into his family heritage that he and his family bought German clothing and even learned some German dances. That all changed when he found out that he wasn’t German after all. His family actually came from Scotland. He then said that he and his family were buying kilts. Why would he do this? It’s because his whole identity was wrapped up in his ancestry and where his family came from. Which leads me to the main point of my sharing – Behavior follows identity. It’s like the man who set his heart on becoming a rock musician. He bought an electric guitar, grew his hair long, wore grungy clothes and started taking drugs. Why? Because this is what rock musician’s do, right?  He was following what he wanted his identity to be.

                Jesus Christ absolutely knew who he was. He was taught who he really was by his parents and in the following years he proceeded to learn and study the Old Testament scriptures concerning himself, the Promised Seed of Israel, the Messiah. He learned who he was prophesied to be and what he was sent to accomplish. He also learned who his true Father was. And when the time was right, being fully convinced of who he was, he walked out and lived his identity. We should do the same.

The problem is that the church, as a whole, does not know who they really are. God’s children, for the most part, don’t have a sin problem. They have an identity problem. 2,000 years ago, on the day of Pentecost, a new race of people came into existence. The body of Christ. A people unlike any the world had ever seen before. A people completely free from their past sin nature and brought into right standing with God Almighty and made holy. The old rules passed down to the children of Israel no longer applied to them. The church had a whole new identity.

In our house, we have a poster on our door entitled “I AM”. The poster lists, one by one, the identity of the children of God. Some of the items on the list are:  

I Am:     The righteousness of God in Christ (II Corinthians 5:21)

                Forgiven of all sin and washed in his blood. (Ephesians 1:7)

                Free from condemnation (Romans 8:1)  

                Holy and without blame before Him. (Ephesians 1:4)

                A child of God for I am born again of incorruptible seed. (I Peter 1:2)

                God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:10)

                An heir of God and a joint-heir with Christ. (Romans 8:17)

                Partaker of the divine nature. (II Peter 1: 4)

                Healed by the stripes of Jesus Christ. (I Peter 2:24)

                A light of the world. (Philippians 2:15)

These are just a few of the things that God tells us in His Word that we are, as His dear children (there are many more). But our adversary, the devil, does not want us to walk out and believe who we really are. In reality, Satan has been defeated. He has no more power over us. But he doesn’t want us to believe this. He wants us to believe that he still has power over our lives. He wants us to continue living in defeat and fear. But remember this: You are what God’s Word says you are! You have what God’s Word says you have! You will be what God’s Word says you will be! If we start believing anything else, it is a lie from the father of lies, the devil.  I once told someone, “God has made you an eagle, but the world has convinced you that you are a pigeon”. We cannot take any cues from the world to tell us who we are. Only in God’s Word will we find our true identity.

 God has made us “royalty”! And as sons and daughters of God, we should strive to mimic our Father. This is what children do.  And just like our brother Jesus Christ, this is who we truly are.

 

                “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; “ (Ephesians 5:1)(NAS)

                                                                                                                      Love Always, Ray