I preached a sermon this past weekend titled "Who's Your Daddy", speaking into one's identity. Realizing your identity isn't just about knowing who you are, but also whose you are. For far too long, we have let society determine the way we view ourselves, our worth, importance and value. For students today, social media has given a numerical value on which they base their social standing. For the first time ever, young people can determine their 'worth' using actual numbers provided by their peers. Social media however, is not the problem. The problem is people really don't know who their Daddy is!
We act like we have all our problems in order, as if God doesn't already know that you are a complete mess! We know He knows, but we act like He doesn't. We think we have to be perfect and we rarely show our weaknesses because we believe the lie that exposing our shortcomings actually makes you weak. But my Bible says in 2 Corinthians 12 that when I am weak, Christ makes me strong. So why do we try to cover up our weaknesses?
Did you know that most people believe that they have to start acting 'better' before they walk into a church? The problem is most Christians believe this about their own walk with Christ. They say things like, "I need to get right", "I need to pray more", "I need to read my Bible", etc. When did Christianity ever become about getting 'right' or doing 'more'? Let's just be honest for a minute. We hardly ever dwell on how much God is in love with us right now. We rarely bring to mind what our Daddy calls us. If you trust Jesus with your life, He actually calls you His child (1 John 3:2). You are a son of the Most High King. You are a daughter of the Creator of the Universe. God is proud of you! So much so that He adores you, even though you are a mess! That's the beauty of His love. It's unconditional, meaning it's not based on your choices. He loves you regardless if you believe or obey. God is not in love with a future you. He is crazy about you right now! As Brennan Manning says, "I dare you to trust that [God] loves you just as you are and not as you should be because you'll never be as you should be."
When you dwell on the reality of what God calls each of us, the more passionate you'll become about Him and the less attractive sin will be. We as humans start to base our identity on how well we are doing spiritually rather than what God has declared over us in Christ. My identity means that I am beloved, a child of God, delighted in, forgiven, washed clean, free, a temple of the Holy Spirit, adopted into God's family, co-heir with Christ, righteous, new, a saint, set apart, an ambassador of Christ, a co-laborer with Christ, a sweet aroma, never alone, a masterpiece, wonderfully made, bold, having guaranteed victory, holding a secured future, whole in Christ. My identity isn't what people call me. It's what my Daddy calls me!
