Finding your identity in Christ.
Finding myself, I remember when I was younger, people would say, “You just have to figure out who you are.” “You should see the world, find yourself.”
It seems when we are a teenager or young adult, we don’t know who we are, so we have to go out on this voyage quest to find oneself. Sound strange? Well, that’s because this is.
Indeed, most people don’t know exactly what career they want when they are young. I mean, being an actress or marrying royal just wasn’t in the cards for me. I had no idea the true calling on my life when I was a teenager. I had to get out into the world and experience some things to figure that out.
The funny thing is when I got out into the so-called real world as opposed to the fake world my parents were giving me. I found that I was still the same person. I was always insecure, and I still did not feel worthy of anything that I received. I was continually trying to win the approval of my bosses and friends.
The other thing I found was that I liked to do a lot of things. I could not find one thing that I excelled at. I wanted to strive to be better at whatever position I was placed in. So how was I going to “find myself?” I liked everything from taking pictures to playing with numbers.
I finally thought I had found myself when I was in the military. I loved military life. I loved having clear expectations, goals, courses, jobs, and being a part of a family. My military family was great.
When we are younger, we have traits that maybe will morph over time. We do change from our younger selves to more mature selves. While that is happening, though, we are still ourselves. Young people don’t get a pass or an excuse not to do things because they are young.
See, in all my searching and even finding what I thought was going to be my forever job in the military, none of that was “finding myself.” I was with me all along. The thing that I didn’t have a grip on until I had to retire from the military (which I wrote about in Confidence in Healing) is that my identity has nothing to do with what job I have or what age I am.
My identity is who I am in Christ; how God sees me. Not even my husband, who I love with all my heart, can change my identity. I am a daughter of the one true King. God loves me just as God loves you.
Think about how you see your own child. How you love them despite the mistakes they make. You cheer for their accomplishments. You want to hold and hug them when they hurt. This is exactly how God feels about you.
No matter what your age is, knowing how God sees you is the most important thing. Life is not a competition against your neighbor, just as it is not a competition against your sibling. Sometimes we forget that parents can love more than one child at a time. The love God has for someone else does not diminish the love He has for you. When He commanded us to love our neighbor as ourselves, that’s because He loves ALL of us.
When you can rest in the Father’s love and realize it’s not a competition, you can let down your guard a bit and realize that those social media posts aren’t necessary. You can be kind to someone who doesn’t see things the way you do.
Walk humbly and confidently that you are loved and be happy for your fellow person if they accomplish something. Their accomplishment does not, in any way, change your identity in Christ Jesus.
