Galatians 2:20,3:26 | Scripture 2:22 | Scripture 3:33
Define yourself by something constant.
“I’m a dancer.” “I’m an athlete.” “I’m an activist.”
Many people, whether they mean to or not, define themselves by what they do. But what if that changes?
Boom! Identity crisis. They start asking, “Who am I?”
And sometimes they never really find the answer. They just start doing something else, and adopt that as their new identity.
Aging actors and musicians find renewed success by ‘reinventing themselves’. But really, all they’re doing is changing their style up. They go from teenage heart throb to hip young parent, to wizened veteran, and hopefully make it all the way to timeless icon.
They strive for immortality by updating their identity to stay with the times, but can they ever change who they are? Can anyone?
The answer is: yes. But maybe not how you think…
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT
When you answer God’s call to follow Christ, you become a new creation. Your old identity is gone, and the new you is born. You become a child of God.
“Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people.”
1 Peter 2:10a NLT
You may have started off not knowing who you were, or basing your identity on temporary things, but now you are one of God’s people. You have a new nature: godly and holy.
Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.
Ephesians 4:24 NLT
And this is no temporary thing. God has started a great work in you and He will see it through to completion–even if it takes forever!
And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
Philippians 1:6 NLT
And this is no temporary thing. God has started a great work in you and He will see it through to completion–even if it takes forever. Now that’s stability!
If you follow Christ, you are a reborn child of God who is being made more like him every day. You are a highly-valued Human 2.0 with a great future ahead.
Anchor your identity in Christ, and you will never have to wonder who you are again.
Questions for Group Discussion
- Do you ever find yourself asking, “Who am I?” Who does the scripture say you are?
- Why might it be a bad idea to base your identity on something like your occupation? What if you change jobs?
- What’s so bad about an identity crisis, anyway? Why would it be a bad thing? Is it always a bad thing?
Challenge: What does that mean, anyway?
So you’re a child of God. What does that even mean?
Your challenge: explain what it means to “find your identity in Christ”. Secondary challenge: be succinct. We’re looking for quality here, not quantity. Economy is the key.
Guidelines
- Use scripture to build and support your argument.
- Write at least two drafts. After each one, find ways to strengthen your argument without repeating any individual points.
- Keep your final draft to one page (single spaced).
Once you have a good draft, keep it somewhere safe, yet accessible. Revisit it after a year and revise it, if necessary. Otherwise, pull it out whenever you need a reminder.
