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Unwrapping the Gift of Identity-
But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.—Ephesians 4:7 ESV
Hey everyone! Thank you for taking time to read my updated blog. Today we are going to talk about Identity. Where does it come from and for what purpose. We are going to discover that our identity is a gift and my goal is to help you understand how to bring forth your true identity and live in it.
So, let’s begin with a story:
There was a man who was a neighbor to a famous sculptor. One day a large block of marble was delivered to the sculptor’s backyard and as the neighbor watched, the sculptor walked around and around that big piece of stone. Day after day he walked around and around and then one day he began to chip away at the marble. As the neighbor watched he began to see what appeared to be a man’s head being formed, and as the days went by, he could see that the sculptor was indeed making a statue of a man.
When the work was finished the neighbor went over to visit and when he saw the front of the statue he exclaimed “Why that is a statue of Jesus!” Then he asked the question that had been in his mind ever since that piece of marble had been delivered. “Tell me,” he said to the sculptor, “why did you spend all that time walking around and around that big piece of marble before you began to work?” The sculptor smiled and replied, “I was looking to see what was inside that piece of marble and when I saw Jesus in there, I just chipped away everything that wasn’t Him.”
That piece of marble didn’t do a thing to help the sculptor. It just rested and let the sculptor do the work. My friend, that is exactly how God desires to deal with you. When He looks at you, He sees Jesus in you and He is chipping away what isn’t Him. All He asks of you is that you rest while He works. He is the sculptor and you are the stone. There is nothing for the stone to do but to believe the sculptor is at work. The outcome will be an ever more perfect expression of the life of Jesus through you. (Story taken from What Must We Do? by John Kellogg)
What a great picture of what Christ is doing in us, not what we are doing, but what He is doing once we have believed and allowed Him to come into our hearts receiving Him as our Lord and Savior.
So, let’s back up for a better understanding. In the beginning we are told “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27
We bear the image, identity of Christ. We were created in our mother’s womb with it. Listen to what Psalm 139 declares beginning in verse 13-
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. 17 How precious to me are your thoughts,[a] God! How vast is the sum of them!
But then when we are born into the world. A world full of sin. As a baby, a child we don’t understand the sin. At this stage we are the most innocent and in the purest form. The closest to the perfect image of God. It is why satan hates children and wants to destroy them in the womb. And if he can’t destroy them in the womb, he comes after them as small children in forms of abuse,
abandonment, rejection, now we see such confusion in our days with gender. All of these are attacks from the enemy against our identity in Christ, because we bear His image.
So to reflect on this more, lets see what Jesus says about children:
They are the apple of his eye Deu. 32:10
“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14
“truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:2 Jesus was talking about childlike faith, taking on the lowly position, pure position of a child. One that believes.
So we see the adoration, the love, the care, the purity of children. Because of this truth, as this stage, as parents we are also told by God:
Impress my word upon the hearts of your children. Talk about it when you sit at home, when you walk along the road, when you lie down, when you get up..basically all the time Deu. 6:6-7
“Start children off on the way they should go and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” Proverbs 22:6
Why are we told these things??
Because again babes and children are in the most innocent and purest stage. This is when truth must be planted of their identity and who their Heavenly Father is, because as they grow the world, the sin around them will impact and tell them something different. The culture, the lies of the enemy will become a great battle and these battles will create layers of ice as a result of sin.
But the image of who we are is still ever present deep within the marble.
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As we grow we begin to make decisions, choices. God give us free will. He chose us from the beginning, but we then we are handed over the choice to choose Him. You see the identity was there from conception in our mothers womb, but in order to unwrap the gift of that identity we need Jesus, we need the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that does the work chipping away all the things that does not reflect Christ. All the things that has robbed us of our true identity.
We can’t do the work ourselves and we will never win the battles.
Some will search all their lives, use all their money and power to find true happiness and identity, but they are not successful and are still left with an emptiness, because that empty spot can only be found and filled by Jesus and coming into our true identity.
Many go through a identity crisis at some time in their life.. where they are questioning, searching. It happened to me as well. Even as a Christian I dealt with an identity crisis. This was something of a shock to me. My belief system when it came to my identity was very superficial and in word only. I had not allowed the truth to invade my thoughts and heart. There were layers of unworthiness and false identity that had to be chipped away. As God was working on His masterpiece, He taught me to “be” instead of “do.” Sounds a little like the story of the sculptor doesn’t’ it? He taught me to just be still, be his child, be a wife, be a mother, instead of so much doing. I was doing myself to death. Doing ministry, doing work, doing, doing, doing. I wanted God to be proud of me, but guess what, He already was!
The truth is We don’t have to do anything to earn his favor or approval and by the way, His approval is the only one that matters!
This may seem like a simple thing, but it can be hard to grasp and apply, because of years of wrong thinking, living in the wrong identity, and a false belief system.
God revealed to me that I was basing my identity upon the approval of others. So, when others did not approve of me, I became paralyzed. The truth was I already had the approval of the King! When I truly accepted this, it was life-changing and suddenly the approval of others quickly faded. I discovered rest and grace like I had never known. There were many gifts I had received from God, but awakening me to my royal identity was a gift I would never forget.
Remember God looks upon you as the apple of His eye. He sees a treasure, a reflection of His Son. He marvels over you, sings over you. There are no blemishes, only beauty and righteousness, because you are His child. It is this identity that everything must flow from in your life. Then you will enter into more joy, rest, and peace.
We must awaken to and secure our identity in Christ, because the enemy runs scared of. He doesn’t want you to walk in your identity and speak your identity, because he knows that when you do, you will reflect the image of God and he (the enemy) becomes powerless!
Wow! That is good stuff right there. A gamechanger, A lifesaver.
Your core beliefs must be solid. They must be rooted and established. These are your identity, purpose, and value. Knowing fully who you are and whose you are becomes the greatest gift of all.
So, let’s dig a little bit, plants some seeds, and allow God to establish some healthy, lasting roots!
1. What does 1 Peter 2:9 say about your identity? That you are a chosen, a royal priesthood, holy, a special treasure
2. What does the Father call you in 1 John 3:1? Sons, children of God. He calls you His own! Of course He does! He created you in His image!
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3. Where does Colossians 3:3 say your life is hidden? In Christ
4. What does Galatians 2:20 say about your new life? Christ lives in you
5. How does God describe His plans and purposes for you in Ephesians 2:10? His workmanship, created to do good works
6. Who are you heirs with in Romans 8:17? Jesus
7. What promise does Romans 8:1 hold? No condemnation in Christ
8. How long has God known you and appointed you in Jeremiah 1:5? Before He formed you in the womb
9. Where does Philippians 3:20 say your citizenship is? In Heaven
10. Who has blessed you and with what in Ephesians 1:3? All spiritual blessings
11. What does Colossians 2:10 say about you? Filled in Him, complete, covered by Him
12. What kind of Spirit did God give you in 2 Timothy 1:7? NOT of fear, but of power and love, self-control, you are of a sound mind
13. What does Ephesians 1:4 say about you? Holy and blameless
14. Who does Jesus say you are in Matthew 5:14? You are the light of the world
There are still so many other scriptures throughout the Bible proclaiming your identity. Your Heavenly Father is pretty proud of you, His creation, His child, and He likes to brag about you. You bring Him Glory! I hope you’re smiling right now! When the enemy tries to make you doubt who you are, just return to these scriptures and discover new ones along the way. Saturate your mind with the book of Ephesians.
I want you to know you were made to shine from the inside out. No jewel or gem could ever out-sparkle the beauty of Jesus that radiates from who you are! God wants you to understand and accept your place of authority in the kingdom. He wants you to rise up and fulfill your assignment. Our mistakes don’t disqualify us, they qualify us. You don’t walk in failure; as a child of God, you walk in favor!
Before my little Luke was born, I purchased a piece of artwork to hang in His nursery. On it, was the following words were painted by the artist:
You are a child of God. You are wonderfully made, dearly, loved, and precious in His sight. Before God made you, He knew you, there is no one else like you.
While Luke was still in my womb, I began to read these words over him, when he was born, I would hold him and speak the words over him, when he became a toddler I helped him on my hip and began to point to the words and read them to him. Soon as he grew, he began to recognize words and I instructed him to read the words himself. Day after day as he grew, I spoke these simple words of him.
Today the piece of artwork still hangs in our home where I homeschool Luke. One day I was sitting in my prayer room really struggling due to some circumstances I was walking through. My little Luke came walking in and on a sticky note he had written and quoted the very words on the piece of artwork and gave it back to me it read:
Mommy you are a child of God. You are wonderfully made, dearly love, and precious in His sight. Before God made you, He knew you. There is no one else like you.
From the mouth of babes. No matter our age, we all need to be reminded of who we are and who we are loved by. SO maybe today that’s you. Maybe you have been questioning your identity.
Maybe the sculptor is looking upon you, His masterpiece. Don’t worry He only sees the beauty of His Son in you. He doesn’t see all the muck on the outside, all the ice. As you allow Him to come closer the outside, the ice just begins to chip off because it can’t withstand His mighty, Holy, loving presence. You see it’s His love, His perfect love that sculpts us. It’s His vision of who He created us to be, not who we have become on our own. He returns us to our original state over and over again, because of His great love.
Do you find yourself today questioning your identity? Maybe you need a name change.
There is an old hymn called I will change your name. It comes from Revelation 2:17 that reads “And I will give him a white stone and, on the stone, a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.”
What is the new name God is whispering over you now?
I have changed your name
You will no longer be called wounded, outcast, lonely, or afraid.
I have changed your name
You are now glorious, confident, fearless, joyful one, a healed child of God
I have changed your name.
Father, speak over your children, sing over your children. May they be consumed like a burning fire with your love. May they unwrap the marvelous Gift of royal identity you have given them in Jesus’ name, amen.
Friends, have a wonderful week. I hope this message has blessed you. I love you bunches, Until we meet again,
Live Life abundantly!
Jeannie