Identity in Christ

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. The life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me, and gave himself for me. – Galatians 2:20

            Identity in Christ is one of the hardest things we can ever do in this life. Even beginning to grasp it is a journey that is not easily made. For Christians it is pretty easy to make Christ a part of who you are, but it is nearly impossible to make Christ everything you are. Think about it like your life is Ferris wheel. We tend to think of ourselves as the Ferris wheel, and all the little cars make up our identity. We only have room for so many cars, but the ones we have define us. We have our education, our families, our jobs, our attitudes, and for the die-hard Christians even Jesus gets his own car. Yet this is not what Jesus is asking of us. He wants the whole thing. Jesus is the Ferris wheel of our identity, and only the cars that align with his will and purpose get to be in our lives. Luke chapter nine verse twenty-three says, “If anyone would come after Me he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me. This does not ask us to include Jesus in our lives whenever we can. It says that we are to go against everything that we are, and continue to fight just to follow Him. It is not easy. The thing about Christianity is that it will never just happen. Nothing about it is natural. We have to go against everything that we are to follow the ways of Christ. It is a constant battle with the flesh that can only be won through Jesus Christ.  He loves you. He gave everything for all of us who deserve nothing. We as Christians do not spread the gospel because we want everyone to join in on our secret gang. We do it because we truly believe that the only way to heaven is not through works, but through Jesus Christ. We want everyone we know to be there with us in that giant party in the sky. We want everyone to feel complete again. This is why judgment, hypocrisy, self-righteousness, intolerance (not by the world’s definition), and hatred are not signs of a true believer. A true believer simply loves Jesus, and wants to see others do the same. It was once said that everyone goes thought this life just searching to be loved. I think we often find that love in the wrong place. The reason most people never find it is because they want to follow their instinct, and be a slave to their own desires. They want to follow their hearts. What true love takes is to go against everything your flesh tells you, and believe in the Son of God. Only then can you fill a gap in your heart, a gap that can only be filled by your creator. I encourage you to not get hung up on what the world says about Christianity, but instead to try something new. I promise you it is the answer to what you are looking for. What have you got to lose? With love for all.

-Joshua