This question Jesus asked his disciples in Mt 16 : 15 I addressed a part of my answer in my last post. But today I want to turn a bit to a corollary that some believers don’t like to dwell on and as a result they get depressed and feel put upon by life’s pressures. The corollary is “Whom do I say that I am.” We are instructed in the Word to think the thoughts of the Word. We are to renew our minds. But how many of us even begin to think about our selves the way God sees us. When we are saved we are told we are a new man, we have a new identity. I think very few of us keep in mind our new identities for very long. Salvation is not something we earn, neither is our new identity. But the identity that you confess has a lot to do with what you do with your time that we have to spend on the earth in our mortal lives. I Jn 3:2 Right now we are sons of God. When you wake up in the morning, and answer the question “who am I?” how far down the list is this part of your identity? Cl 1 Do you ever think that you have been made meet (eligible and deserving) to be an heir of God, Do you realize that Christ is in you? I posit today that God sees us very differently than we usually see ourselves. God has given to us many gifts as an extension of our new identities as members of His family, how many of these gifts do we claim as a part of our identity? I Co 1: 30 Christ is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. Do you see yourself as wise? Justified, sanctified or righteous? But I didn’t do anything to have these qualities. That’s right you didn’t but God sees you as having them as qualities in your life. How often do you claim them as a part of your identity? God gave to us the ministry of reconciliation II Co 5:18, do you see yourself as the agent to get those you meet aware of the knowledge they need to become members of the family?
So what am I saying here? Am I suggesting you walk up to a stranger, offer your hand and say Hi, I am a Son of God, I am happy to meet you? It would surely turn some heads and get you noticed. But let’s use some of that Wisdom that God also gave us. I Pe 3: 15 we are to be ready with the information, so practice a good business practice, listen to find out what people need first before you try to provide the answers.
Yes God would have all men to be saved I Ti 2:4. But if you try to share and convince people of the truth before they are ready to receive it you will not be met with very many positive results. But if you do not spend the time to remind yourself that You know the answers, people are not going to ask you why you are so happy. They will not walk up to you and say “you look blessed, what’s up?” I am saying if you want to see God blessing your life more, take some time to remind yourself of your new identity. It will make it a lot easier for you to live with thanksgiving in your heart. After all you do not earn your new identity, and you don’t have to steal it from anybody either. God gives you all spiritual blessings Ep 1:3. God is faithful, good and worthy to be trusted, He loves us so much he sent His only begotten Son to die for you. He (Jesus) fulfilled the law so that we would not have to be bound by it or be cursed by our inability to live it’s standards. It seems like from what we hear on the news that teenage disobedience and disrespect of parents is the norm now, how many parents out there are ready to haul their 18 yo before the church so that they could be stoned to death, but that would be necessary if we were bound to keep the law. Of course perhaps if we were stoning disobedient children to death perhaps we would not have so many disobedient children. I for one am glad we don’t need to put that to the test. it seems to me to be a phase that children go thru that by the time they reach 30 yo (if they get that old), they see the error of their ways and seek to reunite with their parents on a more cordial basis.
The bottom line here is Read the Word on a daily basis, if you do not have a good idea of who you are in Christ, Make sure you are reading Ro – Th, the Church epistles first where God is addressing the church and telling you all about it. Put yourself in the place of and identify yourself with the believers described. See your self as more than a conqueror, having all spiritual blessings, delivered from the power of darkness, having the fruit of the spirit in your life. Confess that God has made you able, you are a part of the greatest family on earth. Change your mind set to think the Word of yourself, and you won’t have any trouble being thankful to be alive and living for God. This article is directed to those who have read and believed Ro 10: 9,10 and who have enough knowledge of the Word to know what those two verses mean.
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