Everyone’s identity is established and shaped throughout their life by their individual experiences, connections with others, religious norms and media messages as well as our surroundings. We are continually defining ourselves in any way that we can think of.
Defining Our Identity
“Who we perceive ourselves to be — the “I” that each of us carries within ourselves” might be defined as “who we experience ourselves to be.”
We are frequently under pressure to define ourselves in terms of our occupations, financial status, achievements, grades, beauty, what other people think of us, and a variety of other factors.
But what happens to our sense of self when we face disappointment? Or when you lose someone’s respect or admiration? Alternatively, we may become burned out in our jobs or other situations of commitment.
In this situation, the entire core of our identity is shattered and altered, and we are forced to redefine ourselves in terms of something or someone else. When we base our identity on other factors, it is impossible to have a stable sense of self. When our circumstances shift, our identity shifts along with them on a routine basis.
We may be bombarded with messages asking us to define ourselves by external standards, but what would it look like if we choose to define ourselves according to how God sees us instead?
An identity rooted in God would mean that when we think about who we are, the first thing that comes to mind is our standing as someone who is dearly loved by God, rather than our physical appearance.
What changes do you think you’d see in yourself if you saw yourself in this light? What is it that prevents you from accomplishing this?
The way God sees us determines our identity.
During a presentation to the church at Ephesus in the Bible, Paul explains the new identity that is given to a person when they place their faith in Christ.
According to the book of Ephesians, we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing; we have been chosen, adopted, redeemed, forgiven, grace-lavished, and unconditionally loved and accepted by our heavenly Father and Savior. We are blameless and pardoned because we are pure. We have been given the assurance that we will spend eternity with God. When we are in Christ, we can never have these aspects of our identity affected by our actions or inactions.
Obstacles to a Positive Self-Image
However, there is frequently a disconnect between intellectually understanding these facts about who God says we are and actually living them out. Our self-perception, life events, and the ways we allow the world to define us all have the potential to influence this.
In order to live fully in the light of our new identity in Christ, we must first identify the obstacles that prevent us from doing so.
Oftentimes, a mistaken idea, mostly formed as a result of our own upbringing, has gotten in the way of our understanding of how God defines us and our ability to see ourselves in the same manner. “Impure, tainted, or sinful,” for example, would be the polar opposite of the phrase “pure and blameless.” Perhaps a traumatic event in your life has left you feeling unclean, leading you to believe God feels the same way about you. In this case, you develop and live out of a self-identity based on your behavior, which is diametrically opposed to how God views you.
In order to combat these erroneous ideas, we must first identify the specific concept that is causing us to negatively shape our identity. For example, we might consider ourselves to be:
Instead of being accepted, you were rejected.
Instead of being set free, you are kept in shackles.
Instead of being protected by grace, you are subject to the law.
Instead of being adopted, you feel abandoned.
Choosing to live out of one of those identities then has an impact on your actions.
If we still believe that we are subject to rules (as I defined in chapter one), we may believe that we must “do” more for God in order to be in good standing with Him. We may choose to bury ourselves in our work, our relationships, or other pursuits rather than resting in the knowledge that Jesus has done everything necessary to bring us into permanent good standing with God via his death and resurrection.
Putting Your False Self-Conceptions to the Test
Once you’ve identified a mistaken belief, you should surrender it to God. By refusing to agree with it, you can get be freed from that kind of thinking. Then you can replace the untruth with the reality about your own identity.
Even while we may not always “feel” forgiven or blameless, the truth is that God views us in this light. It is at this point when faith is required.
God has provided us with all we require in order to dismantle incorrect thinking and false beliefs, and He has given us the authority to do it.
Seeing Yourself as God Sees You is important.
It is no longer necessary to find our worth in our exterior circumstances when we live from a sense of identity based on how God sees us.
The ability to live confidently and stably frees us from the need to constantly change who we are in response to the judgments of others, our professional success, how we see ourselves, and all the other ways in which we define our value. The opportunity to experience God’s unconditional love in new and exciting ways is available by this process. It also empowers us to communicate His love with others in a confident and fearless manner.
It is unquestionably a battle since we live in a world that attempts to define us according to its own criteria. Although we are fighting a battle, the conflict is worthwhile because the world around us changes as we fight it.
What kind of difference would it make in your life if you truly believed the reality about your new identity in Christ?
Now, what is the best course of action for you to take next?