Your Identity Matters | Northstar Church

O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.” – Psalm 139:1.

Our culture is very interested in the journey of discovering individual identity. Personality tests, assessments, and quizzes are available everywhere you look. It seems like everyone is searching for something to tell them who they are, where they belong, and how they relate to the world. You can look for your identity anywhere, but followers of Jesus are called to find their identity in Him.

We can go back to the very beginning of creation to see our worth and identity when God created us “in His own image.” We are unique to Him, His created “masterpiece.” Genesis 1:27 tells us, “So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Ephesians 2:10 adds, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

So what does God see when He looks at us? Jesus has plenty to tell you about your identity. He wants you to know you can always turn to Him to lean on. You can depend on His love and grace regardless of what you look like, say or do. He is so completely dependable that there is no situation He can’t walk you through. He always is available to listen to your thoughts, dreams, needs, and struggles. Jesus wants to give you direction and guidance in all aspects of your life. You may retreat from Him at times, but your identity in Him remains.

When you see yourself as Christ sees you, others may begin to see you that way too. If you are steady and secure in your identity in Him, your actions, speech, and life will express God’s love. You may find more opportunities to share the gospel, and Christ will be all the more glorified. Remember who your Father says you are because it’s in Him where your true identity can be found.

Moses was a Hebrew castaway adopted and brought up in an Egyptian world. He didn’t “fit in” with the surrounding culture. While his people were enslaved; he lived as royalty. He made a mistake when he murdered an Egyptian and ended up in the wilderness. When God comes to Moses and gives him a job to do, Moses had another identity crisis. He felt unworthy and incapable. “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11) In response to Moses’ statement of unworthiness, God said, “I will be with you…” (Exodus 3:12). And the rest of Moses life was proof of what can happen when God is with you.

Our single most valuable –yet least understood– treasure here on earth is our identity in Christ. Until it becomes prominent in our thinking, we remain stuck in the impossible struggle to make do what is right as the Apostle Paul tells us in Romans: “The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin….for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate…” (Romans 7:14-16)

Discussion Questions:

The only way we grow in our identity in Christ is by seeking the Lord because He is the one who restores and transforms us. Agree or disagree and why?
Our fingerprints identify us as unique individuals with a specific identity. According to Ephesians 1:4, what truth should be fully realized in order to find identity in Christ?