ICS Daily Devotions
Know Your Identity
Ephesians 1:6-7 (NKJV) To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace
It is important that we have a clear understanding of our identity in Christ and deal with the root issues of our lives, so that the fruit of the Spirit can flow freely without being hindered by the soul.
Many people struggle with rejection, feeling deep down that they are never accepted. For instance, if families showed favouritism towards boys, the girls may end up carrying resentment, rivalry, anger, hatred, jealousy and pain into their adult lives. This will affect their inter-personal relationships because they feel they always have to be the best. Others might struggle with their skin colour because they have been ostracized by their peers due to racism. They will always think that others are looking down on them due to their skin colour. If they don’t deal with these issues, they will react to the slightest comments because of the anger and frustration within them, and because their emotions are affected, they will find it hard to be kind and gentle.
One of the major reasons behind growing youth suicides is the struggle for acceptance and not knowing one’s identity. Parents need to know their identity in Christ so they can impart the truth to their children before the world forces its definitions of beauty and success upon them. Some young people go through depression because they feel ugly and inadequate when in fact the opposite is true. They are unkind to themselves and have no joy or peace in their lives.
Because the root of rejection is traced back to the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve were casted out, the rejection issue will never be settled until we come back into fellowship with God, and until we treasure the opinion God has of us more than the view of men about us. In Christ, we are accepted in the beloved, forgiven and redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ. We stand justified or righteous in the sight of God because we are hidden in Christ. There is nothing that we can do or say to make God love us more because everything, including the spiritual blessings in the heavenly places, are given to us purely by the grace of God. We enter into a position of rest because of what Christ has done for us.
Once we have settled within ourselves that God’s opinion of us is what counts, all worldly matters become secondary. As we begin to allow joy and peace to reside in our hearts, we will be less affected by external events. When we are in Christ, there is neither male nor female, slave nor free, nationality differences, black or white because God only sees us as in Christ. That’s our identity!
Sermon Series: Fruit of the Holy Spirit – Patience, Kindness, Goodness and Gentleness
