Identity

Ephesians 1:5 “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.”

The families we all are born into actually shape us and shape our idea of love. Do you know that some people struggle to receive love? When you try to show them love they are always deflecting. 

And when such people become Christians, they spiritualize it. You say to a lady, ‘Your hair is nice’, and she responds, ‘We give God the glory’. Just say, ‘Thank You’, receive it, and let it sink in. She says, ‘But no man on earth should give glory to himself, all the glory must be to the Lord’. Yes, all the glory must be to the Lord, we are not arguing with that. Sadly, when people come to Christ, they find a way to Christianize their flaws and brokenness.

Some people do not give compliments, they do not express love. I was speaking to one of such people, I was encouraging him to say nice things to his wife. He said, ‘Pastor, I do not want it to get into her head’. I said, ‘Just tell her she is pretty’. ‘No! Then she will become proud.’ If you check, that was what he learnt growing up. Some of us never saw our fathers kiss our mothers. We never saw our parents hug each other. Some people stiffen up when you try to hug them. And it is simply because they are not used to it. That is how they have been curated. But for you to be limitless and become all that God has called you to be, you need to be born into God’s family and see how things are done in God’s family. 

You need to be reborn, and it is known as being ‘born again’. Being born again is not a label, it is actually being born into a new family, learning a new culture, and knowing how to love. Do you know that God’s love is reckless? God is not prodigal, but His love is reckless. If you think about the love of God, it really does not make sense. Guess what? The person you think you are, is not who you really are. It is who you have become. The last time you were genuinely yourself was one minute after you were born. After one minute, you started picking up the behaviour of your mother and father. They started curating you, putting you in a box, and telling you what you can and cannot do, telling you how far you can and cannot go. 

So, we then become products of the families we are born into. But today in the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, I pray that your identity in God’s family will override every other identity in the Name of Jesus. It is so powerful because if you were born in Asia or even in another state in the same country, you will turn out differently. The language you speak, and your worldview will be completely different. So, it is the family; family is so powerful. 

Prayer: Father, let my identity in God’s family override every other identity, in Jesus Name. Amen!