At the end of the last post, I said that there is a better way. There is a better way to view ourselves than feeling like our identity is the same as how we perform. When we read the account of Jesus beginning his earthly ministry, we can find something that is pivotal when it comes to the discussion on identity. Jesus goes to the Jordan to be baptized by John The Baptist and when he came up out of the water…a voice spoke. Matthew 3:17 says, “And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

God spoke to his Son from heaven to confer upon him his true identity. The reason that this is important for us is because we who are Christians now share in the Son’s identity. God now calls broken and sinful men and women his sons and daughters. The reason he does this is because they have accepted the gift that he paid for at the cost of his only begotten Son. God took the sin of humanity and laid it on the back of his Son so that we wouldn’t have to pay the penalty. When someone receives Christ, God then takes the righteousness of Jesus and places it on the undeserving sinner. This means that we must pay careful attention to how God looked at Jesus because he now sees his Son when he sees us. Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” This is the apostle Paul affirming the reality that God sees Jesus when he looks at those who are now his sons and daughters.

In part 3 we will explore 1 of the elements of our new identity.