“I am who You say I am Jesus” is something I always have to repeat. Knowing what your identity is and who you are is something that we all struggle with. Whether you are lost from addiction, keep going back to your old ways, a relationship has told you that you are someone who you are not, or you just want to know your identity, there is an answer. Only one person can show you, tell you, and help mold you into whom you were created to be and better that version of yourself by walking side by side with Him. That is Jesus Christ. You must put on the lens of God rather than the lens of the world to view it in a way where you have security, joy, hope, and an abundance of love for yourself.
Everywhere you go there is a magazine, tv, radio, billboard, or city bus telling you who you should be and what you should be doing. Some say, “Be like ____” or “Just do ______” or “Believe in yourself.” This is the problem and where people are placing their value. I’m sure you have heard “be in the world, but not of the world” before. This saying really sticks out to me on this topic of having security in whom Jesus says you are. We are indeed physically in this world, but we are not part of it’s values. As believers, we should be set apart from the world. This is the meaning of being holy and living a holy, righteous life—to be set apart. Being “in” the world also means we can enjoy the things of the world, such as the beautiful creation God has given us, but we are not to immerse ourselves in what the world values, nor are we to chase after worldly pleasures. To work on being in this world in a healthy way rather than of this world, immerse yourself in God’s Word. Know the truth inside and out so you can recognize lies when you hear them. Obey what God shows you in His Word so your life will be holy and above reproach. The world would like you to blend in and you may feel safe that way because that is what the majority is doing. But that is not it. You were created to stand out. You were not created to be like someone else on this earth other than to be renewed in the image of your Creator.
It is only Jesus who can tell you who you are. He comes around many times in the Bible saying who we are to Him. These are a few of my favorite affirmations that have guided me with security in my identity through all the chaos of the world telling me differently. He says we are His children, a branch of the true vine, and a friend.
I am a child of God. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” (John 1:12)
I am a branch of the true vine, and a conduit of Christ’s life. “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. . . . I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:1, 5)
I am a friend of Jesus. “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.” (John 15:15)
The more we embrace these truths from the Bible about who we have become in Christ, the more stable, grateful, and fully assured we will be in this world. If you get one thing from these words, I want you to remember Who you are and Whose you are!
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It’s impossible to know your why if you don’t know your who. It is not possible to know who you are until you know whose you are. This order is really important. If you don’t first figure out whose you are, who you are will be fragmented and, as a result, your calling/purpose will likely be misaligned or at the very least how you show up in your calling will not be Christ-like. This presents several questions: How are we showing up? Do we have a multitude of selves; in other words, are we living multiple lives? Are we self-aware enough to recognize it if we are?
Love this!