Identity in Christ

"The more you ground your identity in the love of God, the less you need the approval of people for your sense of worth." - Geri Scazzero

I read this quote on Facebook this morning and started thinking.  Many of us, me included, have suffered from hurt or rejection in some way during our lives.  For some of us, that hurt has come from those who should have loved us the deepest.  Therefore, their rejection cuts even deeper, leaving wounds that need to be healed by Jesus.  Until you come to find your identity and worth solely in who you are in Christ, you will continue to seek that worth elsewhere.

It is a normal natural thing to want the approval of others.  But trying to find our worth based on what other people think sets us up for a performance/competition mentality. 

Women tend to compete based on looks, beauty, and figure.  They compete based on how well they married, how many children they have, and how successful their children are in sports, school, or other activities. 

Men are prone to find their self-worth in who they are dating or married to, their jobs, their bank accounts, their athleticism, their ability to fix things, their house, yard, or other possessions. 

Much of this is so ingrained in our thinking that we don’t even know we are competing.  We subconsciously chase after things.  We are trying to find our worth and identity not in God’s love for us but in what other people think.  This is why we deify sports stars, actresses, actors, musicians, etc.  We live under the illusion that if only I had this, did this, got this, or looked like this, then I would be happy.  This is ludicrous.  We are to draw our fulfillment in life from the life giver – Jesus Christ.

We need to come to a point where we get sick and tired of trying to please people. We need to stop trying to “keep up with the Joneses” . 

John 12:42- 43

“Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.”

The Pharisees had power, authority, and respect.  They could make rules and they showed everyone how spiritual they were based on their outward appearance and rituals.  If you were a Pharisee, you were on top of the pecking order.  Yet Jesus rebuked them for being hypocrites and failing to understand the call of a follower of God.  Jesus says that they loved the approval of men rather than God.  So, in other words, you have to pick – you can’t have it both ways.

If we choose to follow God and love Him with all of our hearts, then we must quit trying to impress others,  We must quit making earthly comparisons.  We must simply love God above all else and all others. 

That is sometimes easier to say and harder to do.  Following Christ like this often has a cost involved.  Yet we need to follow the Apostle Paul’s example.   Paul chose Christ even though it meant persecution, ridicule, prison, and ultimately death.  Paul valued the eternal over the temporal.  He understood that in the life to come, the last shall be first and the first shall be last.  He understood that seeking God’s approval is always worth it.

Don’t look to earthly things to fill a void in your life that only Jesus can fill. Someone will always be better at something, more beautiful, more successful than you are.  Instead, enjoy who God made you to be. 

Ephesians 2:10

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” 

In the end, we all stand before God’s throne.  Our neighbor will not judge us.  Our boss will not judge us.  Our spouse will not judge us.  God, alone, will be the judge.  It is He alone that we are to serve.  We can’t serve God and man, or money, or anything else. 

Devote your heart completely to the Lord.  Let your heart find satisfaction, worth, and identity in Christ.  In His presence, is fullness of joy.  Passionately pursue God.  He is eagerly waiting to embrace you.  Find rest, peace, acceptance, and unconditional love in being a child of the King.