What is Your True Identity?

The world sure spends a lot of time trying to figure out who we are and to whom we belong. God gave us the answer to this question centuries ago.

Isaiah 43:1 “But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.”

It used to be an easy question. If someone asked for your identity, you simply showed them your driver’s license. If someone asked who you were, you told them your name, where you were from, and maybe your parents’ name.

Simon bar-Jonah was Simon, son of Jonah. Jesus of Nazareth was Jesus from Nazareth. Or maybe you were identified by what you did. Your name was James Painter, or Gerald Baker, or Nancy Tailor. Your name matched what you did, where you were from, or who your parents were. These are, or were, things that could not change. Where you grew up and who you were born to was part of your identity.

It is not so simple today. Identities change. For some, identities change as often as they have birthdays. Identity is no longer who you are but what or who you think you are….today.

Someone is male, but today he identify as female. Someone is straight, but today they identify as gay. They are married, but today they are single. They cannot be bound by truth (that would inhibit their ability to freely identify) because they have their own truth. To each person it is very clear. They are what they are today. For the rest of the world? Well, we live in a state of confusion.

We don’t know how to treat them. We don’t know what to call them. We don’t know how to be friends with them, and when we accidentally insult them in any way, they accuse us of homophobia, or bigotry, or call us racist even if race is not an issue. For those of us who believe in absolute truth and live by God’s moral construct, personal truth lives on the edge of insanity. Of course, saying those words would only more solidify their view of “believers of truth” as bigots.

You see, here is the problem. It is not so much how we see ourselves, but how the rest of the world sees us. One may have fathered children, but if he is an absent father, his children will never see him as a parent. Biologically, yes. Parentally, no. I may look in the mirror and still see a slim thirty-something, but the rest of the world sees an over-weight sixty-something. When I purchase clothing, I am reminded that my truth doesn’t matter. I am overweight. You may be a male athlete identifying as a woman athlete. The women athletes will never accept you as a woman. You are simply cheating. You are robbing them of a level playing field.

Sometimes it is not the world’s opinion that matters. It is the opinion of God. When we claim to be a Christian, but do not believe in or accept Christ as Lord and Savior, God says we do not belong to Him. Sitting in a worship center, singing songs, leading in the worship, teaching Sunday school, preaching, hosting a bible study, giving tithes and offerings, going on mission trips, or checking the box on a survey that we are Christian, does not make us Christian. There is only one thing that can do that.

We must accept the gift of Christ. We believe that He died and arose to save us from sin. He did something, as fully God and fully man, that we can never do. He made a way for us to be forgiven through a sinless life. He made a way for us to be reunited with the Father through His death and resurrection. He pointed us down a road that leads to everlasting life by allowing us to accept Him as Lord and Savior. Anything different, no matter how we identify, will not pass the test. God will not respect our truth.

A story is told of a man who died and went to judgement. When Jesus said, “I have never known you,” the man replied, “but I identify as a Christian.” Jesus said, “We don’t play that game here.”

Watch how they live. See what they do. Do their lives contradict their statements of faith? God calls us to be fruit inspectors. What do we see? New converts? Growth into mature Christians? Do we see short tempers, bad attitudes, foul language, dirty jokes, disrespect, lewd behavior, approval of things the bible clearly condemns? Do we see Christian homes or homes that look and act like every other home in the neighborhood?

Truth is absolute. Any variation on truth is a lie. Billy Graham said, “not believing in the Bible does not make the Bible any less true.” The world is full of absolute truths. If you jump off a building, you will fall and possibly to your death. Gravity does not need you to believe in it to be true. At the end of this life, you will die. You do not have to believe in death for it to be true. If you change your identity, God still knows who you are. You cannot hide from Him, and in the end, we will all be judged. Refusing to believe this will not make it less true.

The statement, “there are no absolute truths,” is itself, an absolute truth. It is self-contradicting. And it is false. There is truth. God’s truth. His truth is what our society is based on. His truth is what our moral laws are based on. Saying it is ok to change one’s identity (sex/gender, sexual orientation) only hurts you and those around you.

There is a way we can change our identity. We can all be adopted into God’s family. We are all God’s creations, but those who believe are God’s children. If we want an identity change, God has a solution. Believe. Trust. Obey. Isaiah 43:1 says “I have called you by name. You are mine.”

That sure sounds a lot better than, “I never knew you.”

Core Identity

Who are you? How do you introduce yourself? Paul says, “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” Who I was, what I was, is no longer valid, for now I belong to Christ. I follow Him.

I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20

When I was in Thailand or in El Salvador, my identity was as an American. It is what set me apart from everyone else in those countries, and if I ever stopped thinking like an American, I was soon reminded by a comment or an action from the local community. Being an American set me apart. Sometimes this was good, and sometimes it was not. Prices of items quickly changed for me. Taxi rides suddenly got longer. Things I did not need were suddenly essential according to local businessmen. Sometimes, I was given special attention to make me feel welcome. I was a guest.

Me playing a flute in Thailand.

It happens here as well. Even if I do not announce myself as a Christian, I am quickly identified as such. Dirty jokes are not funny. Racial remarks draw a lesson on how we all are created in the image of God. Backbiting and gossip bring silence or an attempt to change the subject. Every conversation turns to faith in Christ or some theological thought. Sometimes, I am joined by a brother or sister and we have an immediate bond. We are unified through our relationship with God the Father through God the Son. I know, just like everyone else, I make plenty of mistakes, but that is my humanity peeking through. My Christianity quickly draws me back into fellowship with Him.

Preparing for worship in El Salvador.

I love the idea of being unified in Christ. We are all different. We see things differently and have had different experiences. We have different backgrounds, languages, dialects, cultures, traditions, skin color, gender, clothing, and yet, we are unified with a relationship with God the Son. That one singular decision to follow Christ trumps all other aspects of our lives. We recognize each other as brothers and sisters. We find fellowship and comfort together. We may not agree on all of the finer points of faith but we all have Christ as our core identity, and we are unified.

So, I identify as a Christian. I am also a lot of other things, but those things do not define me. Pastor, male, middle class, husband, father, grandfather are all things that describe me, but they do not define me. Trevor and Tiffany used to be my children. Now, I am their dad. I used to be a band director. Now, I am a pastor. The things listed above cannot be my identity for they are not permanent, but my relationship with Jesus is forever. He is my core identity. It is not a description of who I am, but who I am. I am not a Christian husband but instead, a married Christian.

When someone tells me to leave my Christianity out of it, they are asking me to forget myself. It is impossible. I lose my identity. I cannot hide it. I cannot ignore it. I cannot leave it out of my life whether I am in church or buying groceries. It is who I am. That is what Christ did. He took away my sin and made me a new creation. I cannot turn it on and off. If I could, I would not be truly His.

Preparing for the gospel in El Salvador,

That is a sobering thought. If you know someone who can be a Christian on Sunday morning, but the rest of the week look and act like everyone else, then something is terribly wrong. They are in the midst of an identity crises. They do not know who they are, or worse, they do, and are just pretending to be someone else on Sundays.

Christians are Christian at their core. They are not able to forget their relationship with God through Jesus, nor do they desire to do so. It is who they are. This is true commitment to Christ. He wants every part of us and we desire to fully belong to Him. Otherwise, we are simply using faith for personal gain.

Have you given yourself fully to Him? That is His desire. Are you a Christian at your core? Is this how you identify? If so, we are family. If not, I would love to tell you how.