Where do you
put your identity? This is a question
that's been on my mind a lot lately.
Lots of things have been driving me to ask this question. It's amazing how often the question of identity
comes to the forefront in different places in life.
When we meet
people, one of the first questions that we ask them is, "What do you
do?" Identity is often found in our
job or occupation. We ask each other
where we are from or where we went to school.
We find identity in the places from where we come. We find identity in the things that we do and
the accomplishments that we have made.
Sometimes, we
find our identity in our family of origin.
This was the case with me when I had my first real identity crisis. For years, I had grown up as the pastor's
kid, Tony's son. Everyone knew my dad
and associating myself with him was an easy connection for many people. They immediately knew who he was and could
make the association quickly.
The problem
was, in my efforts to make those connections and associations, I lost my own
identity. I remember introducing myself
to people who I had recently met through InterVarsity as, "Jon, my father
is a pastor." It wasn't until a few
years later that I realized the ramifications of those statements and
introductions.
In reflecting
on this with a friend, I was unpacking it all out loud. We threw ideas and thoughts back and forth
until finally, one of said, "As believers in Christ, if we put our
identity in anything other than Christ, it can be taken away. But nothing can take Christ away from
us." Reminds me of Paul's words at
the end of Romans 8. What can separate
us from the love of God? Nothing.
If we are
followers of Christ, we can put our identity in a lot of good things. Our families.
Our churches. Our worship styles. But those things, as good as they might be,
are not the best thing to put our identities in. They can easily be taken away. And when they are stripped away from us, what
is left of our identity when it has been steeped in these things? What are we left holding?
Paul's words in
2 Corinthians 5:17 speak this loudly. We
are new creations in Christ. The old has
passed away. We have a new identity that
cannot be taken away from us. No one can
steal us, there's no fear of identity theft.
We are made new and we have identity protection.
Where do you
put your identity? If it's anything
other than Christ, it can easily be taken away and what will you have left when
it is?
In Intro to Global/Contextual we talked about the being-doing-becoming circles. I am more and more convinced that my identity lies in the being circle, especially in being a child of God. Now, some days I am not a great child. Some days I sure don't look like family. But as you pointed out, that doesn't make me less related. I'm still his. He chose that for me. That give me comfort and security, even when I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.
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