What if you were to suddenly wake up one morning and could not remember who you are? You don't remember your name, your age, your family, or your job. You don't remember one form thing that makes you, well you. It would be hard to function and would certainly lead you to be confused. You would lose your identity and might start to behave in a way completely foreign to your normal way of life.
That is exactly what has happened to many Christians who have never stopped to really figure out who they are in Christ. They wander through life just reacting to the moment. They live as mere physical creatures when there is so much more to the world. They never really grasped the significance of Jesus' words. Jesus said that God has given men the power to become the sons of God. Jesus said that His disciples would do greater things than He did because He was returning to the throne room of God. Jesus gave His disciples power to bind and loosen. He gave them power to move mountains. The apostle Paul calls Christians new creations. They are seen by God as holy and righteous through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. The apostle Peter calls us priests in the kingdom of God.
You don't really hear people talk that way about themselves in the Church any more. This tends to be true even of very strong Christians. Honestly, it is just easier to trust what other people tell us or what society around us says than to believe what God declares about us.
There once was a father who used to hold his son up on the bathroom counter and brush the boy's teeth every night. They would look at their reflection in the mirror. The baby boy would point and say, "Baby." For the longest time, the small child did not realize that he was the one in the mirror. Then finally, it clicked in the boy’s head. He began to point and say his name. Many times we tend to be the exact same way when it comes to realizing our true spiritual identity.
James 1:22-24 (NIV)
22Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.Christians are to be people that define themselves by what the Word says and not the opinions of men. We know who we are by the inner witness of the Holy Spirit. We are to be doers of the Word who go out and seize our destiny. Too many live each day as victims instead of victors. We focus on what we can't do instead of what God has already done if we will only take hold of it by faith. God never intended for His children to have spiritual amnesia.
Oh Lord, awaken us to the reality of who we are in You. Help us to see Your finished work on our behalf. May we know that we are not condemned. We are set free to live a life that makes a difference. We are free to know You and make You known. We are not who our thoughts say we are. We are who You say we are. Let us pray in faith and receive Your love every day. We can love You because You first loved us.
