Identity
Identity (#1):
Wanted
When we sense no purpose, we create purpose. We have to. It’s how we are wired. Without purpose, without meaning, without a sense that we are wanted and our contribution is meaningful, we die. But we know all to well that self-created purpose lasts as long as we find interest in it, and it is only as solid as your imagination allows. What we long for, what we sense deep in our bones, what we want to be true even when nothing on earth tells us its true, is that there is something for which we were intended; there is someone for whom we were no accident. What if I told you that you were planned. Purposed. Intended. Chosen.
Identity (#2):
Soul
Listen to the music. “Satisfy My Soul.” “Heart and Soul.” “Soul Survivor.” We know we are more than flesh and bones. We thirst for something deeper. Something richer. Something more. God put that in you. You were made for something more. It’s your true identity.
Identity (#3):
Body
“Aging is what happens if we’re lucky; it means that I’m alive.” —Cindy Crawford.
Young and old, we are unhappy with our bodies. Sometimes they don’t work. Sometimes they don’t make sense.
Your body has meaning, purpose, and a future. And to prove it…our Lord has one too.
Identity (#4):
Calling
Think of all the things we give power to define us. Our last name. The accidents of our birth. The community to which we choose to belong. What we do for a living. The Christian story says that, in Christ, and through the gospel, God is calling you to a new identity. It comes with a new name. A new birth. A new community. And a new vocation. This is who you are called to be. This is who you really are.
Identity (#5):
Accepted
Imagine if that terrible moment—that mistake you relive over and over again in your mind—was erased from your record. Imagine if, like in some fantastic dream, you were loved without limit and forgiven forever. Imagine if you were accepted. Loved by the God who made you. Forgiven by the God who bought you. Declared innocent by the God who died for you. Imagine if there were no stones to throw.
Identity (#6):
Christ Alone
My identity is not what I think apart from the wisdom of God. My identity is not what I feel apart from the reordering of God. My identity is not what I do over and above the person of God. Challenging every thought, desire, and religious duty—taking them captive, and surrendering to Christ alone. My true, intended, and chosen identity