Identity Isn’t “One-Size-Fits-All”
We sit. We listen. We watch… and we sigh. We hear that dynamic Christian leader and compare ourselves to what we’re hearing from that platform, podcast or online course.
We look at the faces of those around us. They all seem to be getting it. We read the online comments below a video and see stories of victory after victory, so it’s tough to post our questions or struggles.
We hear about life as a New Creation in Christ and how we should be thinking and acting, but we know our secret insecurities and inconsistencies that don’t look like the shiny bright images we see in others. So, we straighten our mask and polish up the parts of our lives that seem to work well, determined that’s all anyone ever sees.
Often, that sense of failure comes from comparing ourselves to others and coming up short. If it worked for them, why isn’t it working for us? What are we doing wrong?
But what if you’re simply trying to fit into a Christian persona that God never intended for you?
You have an identity in Christ that every believer shares. But you also have a unique identity that makes you one-of-a-kind in all the best ways.
If we get those confused, we can end up feeling needlessly discouraged and ashamed.
How many times have we been shopping, held up a dress or a shirt and knew it would look stunning on us, except it didn’t when we tried it on? Or that color that looks fabulous on your friend, but when you wear it, coworkers ask if you’re feeling okay?
They aren’t bad clothes or colors. They just aren’t the best for YOU.
Scripture is filled with our shared identity in Christ:
We are accepted in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:6)
We are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17)
We are the righteousness of God in Christ. (Romans 3:22)
We are a citizen of heaven (Philippians 3:20)
(and a whole bunch more…)
But your unique identity is the one that Psalm 139 talks about; how God wove you together in your mother’s womb and how He wrote all your days in His book when there were none of them.
Your unique identity is seen in your personality, your passions and how you are created to learn and see the world. It’s even evident in your body. No two fingerprints or DNA are the same in the history of the world!
It’s the combination of the elements God has woven together in you that is His special masterpiece “recipe” that the Lord delights in (Ephesians 2:10). We might share similar ingredients but God combines them differently in each of us.
God created each of us to express our identity in Christ in a way that is beautifully unique to you.
But often (and I think unintentionally), teachers share how they encounter and experience their identity in Christ and we hear it as a “this is how it should be and what it should look for me too.” Not true.
You may hear stories of people who believed God for immense financial provision and it miraculously showed up. But maybe God created you with financial wisdom that invests wisely over time.
You may see leaders at giant prayer rallies being called “game changers,” and “influencers.” But maybe you were created to be a champion in prayer or worship in ways that no one else sees, winning victories in the Spirit that you won’t know about until you get to heaven.
Instead of leading a youth movement, you may be impacting the next generation by being the best Mom you can be, day in and day out.
One isn’t better than another. It’s always what’s best for who God created YOU to be.
Receive the delight God has for your unique identity in Him. When you see someone and wish you could be like them, stop. Breathe deeply. Smile. Thank God that He made you uniquely and ask Him with quiet confidence:
“That’s beautiful. I realize I don’t have an experience of that truth.
What will my unique encounter and expression of that truth be with You?”
