Sabbatical Day 100

Why is identity so hard to find? Humans have to be the only beings in creation who find it difficult to live within their identity. I mean you don't see a fish trying to be a dog. Or a tulip trying to become a tree. Neither do we see the moon trying to be the earth. Everything in creation lives within it's specific identity. As a result, creation brings God glory.

We humans on the other hand, well we fall short of living in the center of our identity. We look to people, positions, roles, power and possessions all to define us. What we rarely understand is that our identity comes from the One who created us. Likewise, our greatest moments of contentment will be experienced as we live out our identity. It is a rare individual who understands themselves and is deeply secure. There is something very contagious about a soul who can be themselves without comparison, competition, jealousy or envy.

Interestingly enough, I believe when we seek God with all our hearts, our identity begins to fall into place. He restores the missing links in each of us; those links that we have been looking for in all the wrong places. But as we grow in our intimacy and relationship with the Father, we find our true selves emerging into the present. Our weakness does not bother us nearly as much because God loved us all along. Humility forms as a result of truly understanding that our strengths are really gifts from God and we didn't do one thing to get them. Living in our God-given identity is the best gift we can give back to our Lord.

May we not settle for pretense, or for the mask that we easily wear in front of people. I hope to fully remove the mask as I learn what is hiding behind it. I have a feeling I will like my true self far more than the mask. I have a feeling it will be easier to live in this true identity than with the mask. Positioning, defending, judging... will all come off with the mask.

Romans 6 tells us that the old self (mask) is put to death when we receive Christ into our life and that a new life begins. This new life is the life that we were always meant to live. It is our true identity. Let's embrace this transformation and follow Christ, becoming devoted more and more each day to Him.