FEBRUARY 2016 - Identity Crisis

We have been talking about our identity in Christ with our students at Vista Grande throughout the month of January. Genesis 1:27 tells us that God created us in his image. In simplest terms that means we are in some ways like God and we are his representatives here on earth. Because we were created by God and created in his image, we have a purpose, value, and worth that is determined by God. We are not the result of some random cosmic event that happened by chance and we are not simply the highest evolved creatures in the animal kingdom. God created us unique and we are his masterpiece. He desires to have a relationship with each of us!

While we were created in God’s image, that image has been distorted by the entrance of sin into the world. We are a broken people that long to discover the true meaning and purpose of life. Teenagers especially struggle to understand who they are and why they are here. They struggle with gender identity and sexual identity. Teenagers will go to great lengths to find acceptance and an identity among a group of peers. So many voices are providing a different message and many teens are completely confused. Who should they listen to and who is right?

People strive to find their identity in the things of the world, but that pushes us further away from who we were created to be. The world tells us we are defined by our achievements, what others think, the way you look, what you have, and who you know. When you are defined by your achievements, then you always have to accomplish more. Failure is not an option. When you are defined by what others think, you are constantly living to impress other people. When you are defined by the way you look, you always have to be the best dressed and the best looking. At some point we all begin to age, develop wrinkles, and some of us even lose our hair!! When you are defined by what you have, you always need more stuff. When you are defined by who you know, you might do anything to be accepted by a particular crowd of people. This is an endless pursuit that is exhausting. 

We need to define ourselves according to the truth of who GOD says we are. As followers of Christ, we need to find our identity in who we are in Christ. As we become more and more like Christ through the process of sanctification, the image of God within us becomes restored more and more. In Christ we discover what it looks like to live life abundantly. We find true joy and fulfillment in life.  We discover our purpose here on earth. We are valuable because God made us and loves us. We can find acceptance with God not because of anything we have done but because of what Christ has done for us. In Christ we experience what it is to truly live and to be truly human as God created us to be.   

Apart from Christ we are spiritually dead, sinful, defeated, and enemies of God. In Christ we have been relabeled. We are reconciled to God, redeemed, free from slavery to sin, forgiven, victorious, and declared not guilty. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ! We are now friends of God, adopted into his family as children with full birthrights, and co-heirs with Christ. We are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, and a holy nation. We have been shown great mercy because of God’s love for us. We are the body of Christ, slaves of God, servants to one another, strangers in a foreign land, ambassadors of the King of Kings, ministers of reconciliation, a display of God’s grace, and a powerful people. These are some of the ways scripture defines us as followers of Christ. How amazing!!

From the very beginning, the plan of the evil one has been to wage war on truth. The evil one is a liar and the father of lies. He desires to twist the truth of God’s Word and for us to disregard God and his Word all together. The mind is a battlefield where Satan is destroying so many people. What we believe about our identity is so crucial because it affects the way we live life. If Satan can get us to believe a lie about our identity and cause us to live in chaos and confusion, then he is leading us down his path of destruction. 

As followers of Christ, we must understand the truth of who we are in Christ according to scripture. We will not always feel these things are true, but truth is not based on our feelings. God is truth, his Word is truth, and his truth never shifts or changes.    

The evil one’s war on truth is why Paul encourages us in Romans 12 to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. How can we help our children to be transformed by the renewing of their minds? Most importantly, your child has to have a relationship with Jesus. Jesus is the one that does the transforming through the work of the Holy Spirit. We need to constantly share and live out the gospel for the rest of our family to see. Make sure that the Kingdom of God is the central priority for your family.

Another way our mind is transformed is by God’s Word. We need to study the Word of God regularly. We need to read the Bible together with our family throughout the week. Perhaps read it around the dinner table, at breakfast, while in the car, or right before bed. Post scripture around the house. Memorize scripture as a family. Ask questions about what your teenager is learning through their own study and at church. Set aside time to worship together as a family during the week or sing worship songs together to the radio while in the car. Make it a priority to attend church on Sunday, to worship together, and to study the Word in a Sunday school class. Find ways to serve others together as a family.

Prayer is another way our minds can be transformed. Pray that your children would be protected and stand strong against the attacks of the evil one. Pray that they would believe and live by God’s truth.  Pray together with your children and your family. 

Encourage your children and build them up in the Lord. Teach them about who they are in Christ. We can often expect so much from our children that they end up feeling like total failures and a complete disappointment. Find ways to speak life into your children even in the midst of their failures and when they are in what seems like complete rebellion. I am not saying we promote the everyone gets a trophy kind of philosophy of life, but we all need words of encouragement and the truth of God’s Word spoken into our lives regularly.         

What we believe about who we are, the way we label ourselves is critical in life. The identity crises that teenagers face is powerful and tough to work through. Let’s all make it a priority to remind one another that as followers of Jesus, our true identity is found in Christ.