Identity Crisis

Who are you? I'm mean do you know who you really are? Not who you think you... Not who others think you are.... But who you are in the eyes of the one true God.

In 1 Corinthians 4:3-5 Paul shares:

It is of little importance to me that I should be evaluated by you or by any human court. In fact, I don’t even evaluate myself. For I am not conscious of anything against myself, but I am not justified by this. The One who evaluates me is the Lord. Therefore don’t judge anything prematurely, before the Lord comes, who will both bring to light what is hidden in darkness and reveal the intentions of the hearts. And then praise will come to each one from God.

This passage should be one of great encouragement to us!

It shouldn't matter to us what others think of us... but at the same time we can't disconnect so much that we stop listening to those around us - judging only ourselves... if we do that we risk losing touch with the world and we are putting ourselves in God's shoes...

We need to stop comparing ourselves to each other, we need to stop trying to see who's pile of chips is the highest, whose racked up the most points because when it comes right down to it there are no chips or points because God alone is our judge.

We should seek to find our identity in Christ and Christ alone.

I know this won't sound very politically correct but you can't do this... stop trying to deceive yourself... You cannot fix yourself. You need Jesus. The world will not satisfy. Neither can you cannot grow in your faith alone. We need each other. Growth as the people of God requires unity, a shared identity, shared mind, and shared mission. But unity requires humility. The humility of the gospel isn’t thinking LESS OF YOURSELF it is thinking OF YOURSELF LESS. It is refusing to listen to the world’s judgment or our own, in order to determine WHO WE ARE.

The only thing that matters is WHO, by faith in Christ, God SAYS you are! In Christ, you are a son, you are servant, and you are a steward. You have an identity, you have a role, and you have a responsibility. 

There is freedom in forgetting yourself and living in Christ. And only with an identity secure in Christ, will you be able to experience genuine peace and joy in who God has made you to be and what He has given you to do, not tomorrow, but today.

So I ask you again who are you?