Your True Identity

Ruth

If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

—2 Corinthians 5:17

It seems silly now, but I remember the feeling of seeing the title “assistant manager” next to my name for the first time. I was fresh out of college and ready to take on the world! My job wasn’t terribly glamorous or high paying, but the new title and position gave me a sense of worth I found myself quite comfortable with. Unfortunately, as I would learn in the years to come, this is just one of many ways it is tempting to look to others, or other things, to find my identity.

What is it that really defines us and drives us? Who are we? Our identity is our sense of well-being, significance, or worth. Because all of us are looking for worth or identity, we inevitably end up creating our own identities. We may find an identity based on a job or career, as I first did. We base our worth on our social networks, our possessions, our successes, and even our failures.

The danger in looking to these areas to find identity is that they are not truly who we are. These identities are moving targets. They never last. They are only temporary. Even worse, when we look to anyone or anything other than who God says we are, we are really turning it into an idol. God our Father calls us into a new identity that never changes. Because it is rooted in what Jesus has done for us and what our Father thinks of us, it doesn’t go away.

What does it mean to find our worth or identity in God? It means that we really are, like today’s verse says, new creations. Because of our faith in Jesus, He now lives in us through the presence of the Holy Spirit. We are fully and completely loved. Accepted. Treasured. We are of incredible worth and significance not because of what we do but because we are made in God’s image. There is such joy and freedom when we live out of the identity, acceptance, and approval we have because of Jesus.

Don’t look to others to get what only God can give you! He alone loves you perfectly, and His love is sufficient to give you your true worth and identity.

Father, I know You love me completely and unconditionally. Show me the areas where I am tempted to find my worth in the wrong places. Help me rest in and rely on the love You have for me. In Jesus’ name, amen.

In what ways are you most tempted to look to others for approval instead of looking to God?

What is one way you can begin to root your identity in God’s unchanging love?