Worship Devotional CXXVIII

Jun 25

Originally posted in the bulletin on 6/25/2022.

Who We Are — Our Identity In Christ

Worship Devotional for 6/26/22

Do you know who you really are? Where do you draw your identity from? What defines your purpose in life, and what gives your life meaning? There are many things in the world which people use to try to establish a sense of identity and purpose for themselves, such as their work, relationships, money, possessions, power, success, fame, various interests or hobbies, talents or skills, or any combination of these things and more. But we as human beings are more complex than what these things can say about us. The question of who we are is too deep for the world to sufficiently answer. Our lives are made up of more than the empty and fleeting things the world has to offer. This is because we were made for more than this world, since we were created by God, in His image, with eternity in our hearts.

Perhaps nothing secures a sense of identity as much as knowing who one's father is. A family name is passed down from the father to the next generation, often along with family business, tradition, reputation, wealth, etc. We know who we are by knowing where we come from and where we are going. The only way we can be assured of either is if we believe in the name of Jesus and through Him come to know the Father, because He is the One who created us and who faithfully promises to give us an eternal home in heaven. We came from Him and were made for Him, to be with Him in the presence of His glory for all eternity. So true identity can only be discovered in knowing Him, the one true God.

Maybe you've found yourself searching for answers about who you are in all the wrong places. Maybe you've been trying to make a name for yourself based on your works or your interests or your possessions or any other worldly thing that can never really satisfy the deep longings of your heart. There is good news for those whose hearts are humble and repentant before the living God! Not only are we saved from our sins through the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ, but we are born again through faith and the working of His Spirit! This means we are made new in Christ, and therefore we take on a new identity. We are no longer called slaves of sin and enemies of God. Instead, we have believed in the saving name and work of Jesus Christ the Son of God, and have been reconciled to the Father through Him. We are now called children of God!

In this life we will struggle and suffer. There will be many trials and temptations and hardships that we must walk through. But God's word remains true through it all, and He has called us His children. That means we can stand securely no matter what knowing who we really are. It means there is hope and encouragement even when we stumble and fall, because we have a Father in heaven who loves us with an everlasting love and who will never let us go. He is always working for our good and for His glory.

1 John 3:1-3:

"Look at how great a love the Father has given us that we should be called God's children. And we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it didn't know Him. Dear friends, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him because we will see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself just as He is pure."

Hebrews 2:10-18:

"For in bringing many sons to glory, it was entirely appropriate that God — all things exist for Him and through Him — should make the source of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying: 'I will proclaim Your name to My brothers; I will sing hymns in the congregation.' Again, 'I will trust in Him.' And again, 'Here I am with the children God gave Me.' Now since the children have flesh and blood in common, Jesus also shared in these, so that through His death He might destroy the one holding the power of death — that is, the Devil — and free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death. For it is clear that He does not reach out to help angels, but to help Abraham's offspring. Therefore, He had to be like His brothers in every way, so that He could become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tested and has suffered, He is able to help those who are tested."

Romans 8:12-17:

"So then, brothers, we are not obligated to the flesh to live according to the flesh, for if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. All those led by God's Spirit are God's sons. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, 'Abba, Father!' The Spirit Himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God's children, and if children, also heirs — heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ — seeing that we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him."

Galatians 4:1-7:

"Now I say that as long as the heir is a child, he differs in no way from a slave, though he is the owner of everything. Instead, he is under guardians and stewards until the time set by his father. In the same way we also, when we were children, were in slavery under the elemental forces of the world. When the time came to completion, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba, Father!' So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God."

Psalm 32:7:

"You are my hiding place; You protect me from trouble. You surround me with joyful shouts of deliverance. Selah"

Psalm 103:11-13:

"For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His faithful love toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him."

1 Peter 1:3-9:

"Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy, He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. You are being protected by God's power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. You rejoice in this, though now for a short time you have had to struggle in various trials so that the genuineness of your faith — more valuable than gold, which perishes though refined by fire — may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. You love Him, though you have not seen Him. And though not seeing Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy, because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls."

Songs: