Article: Identity in Christ | Sneha Thomas
Our identity is something that is very important to us, essentially, it’s what makes us ‘us’. Those identities that we create for ourselves shape our core beliefs which in turn moulds the way we think, say or act. I think that it is also something the current generation really struggles with because maybe our identity could make or break us. We spend so much time obsessing over what others think of us and how others perceive us and often we’re so insecure in ourselves that we don’t even know what our identity is. For a non-believer, their identity could be rooted in their name, their family, their career or their hobbies. For example when someone approaches you and asks who you are, our first response would be ‘I’m Sneha’, if we took it a step further we might say ‘I’m Sneha, daughter of such and such’.
However, as Christians, what is our identity? Is it our church? Perhaps the year we received Jesus? The amount of times we’ve read the bible? Personally, I believe that even Christians struggle with their identity. I don’t quite think that our identity in Christ is something that we fully understand at the exact moment we receive Jesus, despite it being established. It is somewhat a process, the more we learn about Jesus, the more we learn about our identity in Him. Often as Christians we tend to develop our identity in Christ around our gifts or our ministry, for example we might say ‘Oh I’m a pastor’ or ‘I lead worship’ but to God we are His sons and daughters. How much more powerful and how much closer is the relationship if we are able to say that we are His sons and His daughters. Of course, our ministry matters but our relationship with Him matters more. Minister to Him first and then the crowds. If we look at what the scripture says about Jesus, we can see that the initial statement made about Jesus was that He is the Son of God. Before Jesus ever performed a miracle, before He ever preached a sermon, before He had a single disciple, the Father said, ‘This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased’. I believe that all the other identities we create for ourselves are merely an illusion, at the end of the day we cannot take any of the identities we create in this mortal world to eternity. When we enter Heaven, we are not known by our names, our careers or our ministries but that you are a son or daughter of the Most High, that you are a good and faithful servant who has fought the good fight and finished the race.
As Christians, we know that we are children of God and that we are new creations, called and separated for God. The Bible has many verses which talks about our identity in Christ, God says that we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation whose spirits are not of fear but of sound mind. I think it’s so easy to read by this or to listen to a sermon being preached on it but to implement and to be secure in our identity in Christ and understanding how that practically changes our way of life is another thing. We should then begin to not behave out of our identity, but instead we begin to behave out of our understanding of our identity in Christ. We begin to behave like a chosen generation whose old selves have been crucified and have become new creations, like a member of the body of Christ who encourages the other members in Christ, who sets their mind on heavenly things and not on that of this earth because they understand that what God has planned for them is better than any intricate plan they could make. After all, no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has conceived what He has prepared for those who love Him. To be secure in what God has planned for you while watching others blossom is not an easy thing, but not all flowers bloom in the same seasons. Not everyone is built to run the same race. Not everyone is equipped to fight the same battle.
Once we realise the depth of our identity in Christ, it will start presenting itself in our worldly identity. This might not be something extremely significant but for someone like me with no patience, this might present itself in me being more patient with someone. Our gestures don’t have to be significant; it could be a quick smile or a wave. I think our identity in Christ should be more revolved around whose we are and not who we are. As humans, we’re always trying to reach the next level in the game that is life, study, get a job, get married, have kids, and eventually die. While we’re so busy sprinting through this race, we lose focus on whose we are, and fix our eyes on who we are and who we are becoming. It’s a good thing to improve ourselves both spiritually and worldly, in fact it’s a natural thing that is expected from us but to be completely grounded in the fact that we are God’s creation, His sons and daughters is what keeps us in tact during it all. To sum it all up, our identity in Christ is not who we are but whose we are.
Sneha Thomas
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