my Id matters!

I will cry to God Most High, To God who accomplishes all things for me (Psalm 57:2)

ID precedence

Many Christians, myself included, often perceive themselves as disconnected from God as they struggle to grasp His nature and commandments without fully realizing their own identity in relation to Him. Throughout most of my life, I lacked a deliberate connection and rarely engaged in communication with God and Jesus except during moments of crisis. I believe that many of us can relate to this experience.

In our modern society of information overload, unrealistic expectations, and achievement-focused mindsets, we often miss the point in our situations and seasons of life, the ones that matter most to our Heavenly Father. Until we understand our identity (ID) in Christ through our salvation, we will veer far from what matters most and where our spiritual growth must occur to fulfill God's purpose for our lives.

However, before we can discover our new self (ID in Christ), we must understand the importance and precedence of identity in God's eyes. In their book titled Defined: Who God Says You Are by the Kendrick Brothers, they describe the life of Jesus as a vivid illustration of the priority of identity:

The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke all report that at his baptism, Jesus came up out of the Jordan River, and eyewitnesses heard a voice thunder out of the heavens, saying: 'this is my beloved son, with whom i am well pleased'

God tells the world at this moment the most essential thing that matters to Him: Jesus is His beloved Son. Not only that but He is well-pleased to call Jesus His. God could have chosen to voice many instructional statements before Jesus' ministry began, but instead, He spoke of His Son's identity (Kendrick Brothers, 2019). God's love defines Jesus' identity, which was already in place before He was born and started His ministry on earth.

This should be an eye-opening, jaw-dropping, and deep-penetrating realization of Who God is to all of us and how much He loves not only His Son but each of us who He created in His image and predestined for adoption as sons or daughters (Ephesians 1:5).

In love, He predestined us to adoption as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, with which He favored us in the Beloved

Did God love us before we were even born? Yup, this is 100% true. Go ahead, pause, take a deep breath, take it in, and let it out with a "Whoa, God!"

We are awesomely and wonderfully made (Psalm 134:14). No one in the world is like us, and He loves us more than we can ever imagine.

ID prioritized

Immediately following Jesus' Baptism, the Holy Spirit led Jesus to the wilderness to be tested by Satan for 40 days. We read in Matthew 4 and Luke 4 that two of the three recorded temptations that Jesus encountered were specific attacks aimed at His identity; Satan repeated, "If you are the son of God..." (Matt. 4-3 & 6) followed by temptation and challenge to test God. However, Jesus responded with the truth of Scripture rather than His feelings to validate His identity, trusting what His Heavenly Father already loved and affirmed (Kendrick, 2019).

Consider a broader, earthly perspective shared by Christianity.com, explaining that these temptations represent the broader human struggles in the desires of our flesh, our desires for signs and proofs, and the allure of our worldly power and success.

I don't know about you, but from my younger years to later in my adulthood and even today, I struggle with my identity and what people think of me. When I begin trying to please man over God, I take one giant step off the path of godliness, start living life in my strength, and play a dangerous, worldly game of what I call "ID-chasing."

Then, I am reminded, oftentimes by a conviction in my heart or by a brother or sister in Christ, that we don't have to chase or look very far to learn our identity. Everything is miraculously, truthfully, and clearly presented to us in the Bible, from Genesis in the Old Testament to Revelation in the New Testament and in between through the Psalms and Proverbs.

We also have godly men and women who provide us with further insights into Jesus' identity and who we are in Him. In their book Defined, the Kendrick Brothers explain that everything Jesus said and did flowed out of His identity; for example:

His identity guided His actions: "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep." (John 10:11, NASB)

His identity explained His access: Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6, NASB)

His identity clarified His authority: Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; the one who believes in Me will live, even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)

Prioritizing Scripture over worldly definitions of our identity and trusting in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit to work in our hearts draws us into an identity journey that really matters to God. Scripture tells us in Proverbs 4:23, Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.

What is in our hearts matters, for all of our external behaviors flow from it (Kendrick Brothers, 2019).

Our external behavior is actually flowing out of internal issues deeply rooted in our hearts.

Our identity is rooted in the heart at the core of our transformation. However, we must recognize that our immediate identity change as a new creation in Christ through salvation changes everything for us. Still, it is just the beginning of becoming who God created us to be. When we become God's son or daughter through Jesus Christ, we embark on a spiritual maturity journey to become more like Christ and fulfill the purpose and good works God has planned for us (Ephesians 2:10).

We must also remember that our identity is the foundational issue that significantly affects every aspect of our lives. Knowing our God-given identity and allowing Jesus to help us discover and live it out affects our thoughts, words, and behaviors in a way that is often unexplainable, misunderstood, and criticized in the world. Yet, it makes all the difference in God's Kingdom, even in the spiritual realm.

Our priority is to choose between believing in and accepting our adoption as sons or daughters of our Heavenly Father. This adoption is not of this world and becomes an eternal decision that Jesus seals with the Holy Spirit, which is only possible through His blood and death on the cross.

ID pursued

Choosing to change our identity begins a journey of discovery and maturity. Unless we acknowledge and accept Whose we are and the absolute truth about who we are, the lens through which we view ourselves and others most likely concludes ungodly views of ourselves, our lives, our circumstances, and our relationships (Kendrick Brothers, 2019).

...the truth is, your identity is actually a deep, underlying part of your thinking all the time, every day...a pool of hidden beliefs about your own identity and worth that either clarifies or confuses the choices you make in life.

As we open our hearts, we learn more about God's heart and love for us. This love comes with a set of works He's done and works He wants to do in and through you to expand, honor, and glorify His Kingdom. Pursuing our true identity takes commitment and work, which requires time and effort while also allowing the Holy Spirit to take more control of us to work in and through us.

We will never know everything about who we are on earth, this side of the Kingdom. But God will reveal our entire identity to us in Heaven. Oh, what a joyful day it will be when we know our spiritual identity and are forever in God's presence

ID pREPARED

Before continuing in future blogs about what it means to stay Alert, Armored, and Alive in God, we must first consider our identity, the side we stand for, the protection we pray for, and the family we fight for. Remember what Sun Tzu said regarding the Art of War: "Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be in peril." From a Biblical perspective, Christians must prepare for our battles but accept that our battles' belong to God (Psalm 21:31, NASB).

The horse is prepared for the day of battle, But the victory belongs to the Lord.

When we choose Christ, God forever adopts us into His family, His Kingdom. While we trust God, our Father, we are better equipped and able to begin learning, growing, donning His Armor, and fighting for Him in a godly way that honors and glorifies Him through it all.

We will continue to learn more about our battles and who we fight against, but for now, let us pause and consider that our identity and preparation are the keys to winning our battles. Likewise, we must always remember that the results belong to God. We will never fully understand His works and ways of fulfilling His purpose, but we can trust in Him, knowing His works and ways are for our good.

Once we invite Jesus to come into our hearts and become Lord over our lives, we will no longer be enemies of God (Romans 5:10). We will become sons or daughters who are deeply loved and cared for by our Heavenly Father.

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

Closing

Heavenly Father, I come in Jesus' name, asking that You would open the eyes of my heart to know You and who You created me to be. Help me daily receive Your love for me, walk in sincere love toward You and others, and live out who I am in You. Bless me and strengthen me to do Your will. Fill me and lead me by Your Holy Spirit, and use my life as a light in this world for Your glory. Amen.

Stay tuned for future Blog posts that will encourage and challenge one another, we, the Body of Christ, to Stay Alert in the Bible and prayer, Stay Armored in the battle of spiritual warfare, and Stay Alive in Jesus Christ, our Bread of Life; Lord of lords and King of kings.

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