How do you see yourself? How do others see you? Where do you find your identity? These are things that we are exploring today and I loved this meme as a representation on this. If you are a Christian, you are not what happened to you. You are what you have fought to become and you will continue fighting to become what Jesus wants you to become!
There’s a lot in that, so let’s unpack it!
First, you are not what you once were and you are definitely not what happened to you. Do not let circumstances in the past define you. Do they shape you? Sometimes. Do they change you? Almost always. But are they who you are? No.
The minute you became a believer, you started changing. The Holy Spirit working in you started the transformation process. From now til you die, you will be growing and changing into the likeness God originally intended for you.
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:18
Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
1 John 3:2
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:6
So what does that mean? It means that although things have happened to you, or that you did certain things, they do not define you. Jesus defines you. Your identity is in Him, not any earthly circumstance. Once you became a child of God, your identity completely changed. You were bought with the blood of Jesus and your identity is in Him.
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Galatians 2:20
Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
1 Corinthians 12:27
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.
1 Corinthians 6:19
For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.
Galatians 3:27-29
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
Romans 8:14-15
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God
John 1:12
That’s right! You are an heir to a kingdom! You have the Holy Spirit living inside of you! What you did or what happened to you does not define who you are. God defines it. He is your creator and he says that through your faith, you are now an heir to a kingdom!
Not only that, but you are a warrior! You have fought with yourself to accept your sin and then repent of it. You have fought to turn over the “bad” things to Jesus. You have fought against the ramifications of what has been done to you. You have fought to accept your identity as an heir to the kingdom. You will continue fighting because we are engaged in spiritual warfare. Because we believe, we are attacked by Satan and his demons even more. If he can’t keep us from the kingdom, he will do all he can to keep us from being effective for the kingdom.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:12
Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.
James 1:12-14
Because you have chosen to follow Christ, you will continually be in battle to transform into who Jesus intends for you to be. Do not fool yourself, it is a battle to fight your nature. Our nature is to sin. However, our battle is already won and God has given us all the tools we need to engage in the battles before the victory. We have victory! And Jesus is there, with us, through the battles we face. But that is a topic for another day!
For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
1 John 5:4-5
You are not defined by what has happened to you. Your identity is in Jesus Christ. You are an heir to the kingdom of God! Leave all those other identities behind. They are a part of you, but they do not define you. Embrace your true identity. Fight to become the person that Jesus has created you to be by allowing him to transform you. Accept your new identity as an heir to the kingdom of God, as a chosen child of God, and as a warrior.
Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Psalm 100:3
- Are you allowing your past to define you?
- How is your past, or something in your past, controlling your present?
- Take time to pray over these things in your life. Satan wants the past to keep your focus off of your true identity. Pray for deliverance from that.
- To learn a little more about transformation and how we grow in Christ, check out a previous Monday Meme.
Meme pictures derived from social media and shared under Fair Use Copyright Law
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