I have been thinking a lot about identity this week as a result of pastor John's sermon on Sunday. As a he pointed out from Colossians 3:3-4: as a Christian, my life is hid with Christ in God. That gives me security! Also Christ is my life. That gives me significance! When Christ returns I will be with Him in glory. That gives me satisfaction!
Too many Christians are a lot like the beautiful swan who was the centerpiece of the story of the ugly duckling. God has great plans for the Christians but they have forgotten or not realized WHO they really are. As one theologian said, "It is tough to soar like an eagle when you live among turkeys."
It is a battle to remember who we really are. There are many voices who try to deceive or convince us, Christians, that what is true is not true and what is not true is true.
It reminds me of the classic game show, "To Tell the Truth." On that show three panelists would say that they are the same person. The contestants would then ask them questions to discern who was telling the truth and which two were lying. The winning contestant was the one who identified the truth.
In life the Christian has to discern while not two but three voices are telling him or her lies. The world, the flesh and the devil do not play fair. The victorious Christian is one who holds to what he or she knows is true despite the onslaught of falsehood.
We not only walk in victory when we hold to our identity, but we also please God. In fact the Bible tells us in Hebrews 11:6 that what truly pleases God is the faith that holds that God exists - when liars scream He does not - and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him - while those same enemies of our soul call us fools for following Christ.
I have been thinking recently a lot about death as my dad battles with cancer. I do not know that there is a "good way" to die, but I have wondered which is a worst way to pass away. My dad is courageously living each day as God's gift as he fights the pancreatic cancer with the "new generation" of chemo. That is very difficult for us all.
Yet, Dad's older brother by 5 years and older sister by almost three years are in a stage of dementia. They both are unaware of their world and are fuzzy on their identity. As bad as it is to die of cancer, it may be worse to lose one's mind.
For many Christians, they are suffering from spiritual dementia. Our pastor called us Sunday to go back to Scripture where we find truth to counter the lies. We need to go back to the Bible to find our true identity so we can walk in victory and please God. May God keep the truths in Colossians 3:3-4 clear in our minds and firm in our hearts.
May God enable us to soar among the turkeys!
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What an awesome post, and how true! I agree that so often we do fit the character of the 'ugly duckling'. For more reasons than we wish to expond upon, life give us that role. If we think that being a follower of Jesus gives us a free pass to daily mountain top life, then we have failed to read His Word, and relate to those who were his closest followers. How often Paul wrote about the difficulties that he faced while trying to spread the Good News. The only way to overcome is like our pastor has been preaching with such anointing over the last few weeks, and that is that these things come through prayer and fasting and seeking a closer walk with God. I too can relate to having a parent who faced the horrible disease of dementia, and another who had brain cancer, and how crippling this can be to a person who has walked a christian life for years. It doesn't matter if Satan tries to 'steal our idenity' through all the problems he tosses at us in this journey, through the fire and through the floods, through life's dense and maddening mazes, He will see us THROUGH, because GREATER IS HE THAT IS IN US, THAN HE THAT IS IN THIS PRESENT WORLD!!!
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