Imagine you walk into a room full of people you don’t know, and they ask you to introduce yourself. Where would you start? Your name, probably. If you have a career, you’ll probably mention that next. Then you might add something about your family, where you’re from, and something you love to do.
I’d say something like, “My name is Eric Huffman, I’m a pastor from Houston, Texas. I’m married with two teenage kids, and lately I’ve really gotten into golf (even though I’m pretty awful at it).”
That’s a perfectly fine, socially appropriate introduction, right? But does it say anything about who I really am? Not really. I am not defined by my name, profession, marital status, or golf game (thank God). Who I am is something altogether different, and the same goes for you.
But we’ve grown so accustomed to identifying ourselves based on those superficial traits that I’m concerned that most of us are at risk of losing sight of who we really are. Whenever you’re not crystal clear about your true identity, this world will fill your head with false ones.
The Bible teaches that our enemy, Satan, is the temporary ruler of this world (2 Cor. 4:4), and we can be sure that he wants nothing more than to confuse and deceive us about who we really are. That’s why so many of us find our identity in our achievements, deficiencies, victories, failures, features, and flaws. He wants you to see yourself as the sum total of your qualities and accomplishments (or lack thereof), and he especially loves it when we self-identify by comparing ourselves to others.
This world is full of deceptive, persuasive, invasive thoughts about the source of our identity:
- Your self-worth is determined by you. You don’t have to depend on someone telling you who you are. – Beyonce
- You have to be willing to go to war with yourself and create a whole new identity. – David Goggins (fitness influencer)
- The most important thing is being true to yourself. Find yourself. Know yourself. Be yourself. Love yourself. – Literally every TikTok influencer these days
In a nutshell, what the Devil wants you to believe about yourself is that finding and establishing your identity is all up to you.
I don’t know about you, but to me, that sounds like a lot of pressure and work. On top of everything else I’m supposed to do today, you’re telling me that I’m also responsible for finding myself? I can’t even find my keys most days.
It’s no wonder that so many people are anxious and depressed. All their lives, they’ve been told it’s all up to them.
Mercifully, the Bible paints a much different (and much clearer) picture of how we can know our true identity. As it turns out, knowing who we are isn’t up to us at all. Consider this passage from 2 Corinthians 5:
v.11 – What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience.
God already knows who and what we really are. All we have to do is trust what He says about us.
v.13 – If we are ‘out of our mind,’ as some say, it is for God.
The world might think we’re crazy for ignoring its faux wisdom and trusting God’s Word instead, but that’s fine. It’s better to be called crazy for believing something good than it is to be called good for believing something crazy.
v.14 – For Christ’s love compels us, because we are CONVINCED that one died for all…
God loves us so much that He sent His Son to die for us – all of us – so we are compelled by love to find our identity in Him.
v.15 – He died for ALL, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for HIM!
We find our true identity not in looking out for ourselves or seeking the approval of others, but in living for Christ.
v.17 – Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:
the old has gone, the new is here!
Because of what Jesus Christ has done for us, we are no longer who we were. We are not our achievements or our failures. We are not defined by the past. We are not the sum total of our goods. We are not even mere sinners (although many Christians are in the habit of identifying as such).
You are a new creation in God’s eyes.
You are a saint who still sins a little.
You are a child of the King!
No matter what the world might say, and no matter who you see in the mirror, that is who you really are. The great Christian author Brennan Manning may have said it best:
“Define yourself radically as one who is loved by God. This is the true self. Every other identity is an illusion.” – Brennan Manning
What about your life would change if you truly believed this about yourself?
