The sentiments of finding oneself are echoed in numerous modern, popular worship songs. "Who am I that the Lord of all the earth would care to know my pain, care to know my hurt........", " I am a friend of God, he calls me friend.........", " I know who I am, I know who I am, I know who I am, I am yours...........", and " I am not forgotten, God knows my name" are just a few that come to mind. We sing these songs with great fervor in our hearts and spirits and a sense of pride and belonging wells up from deep within us. We no longer have self-esteem issues and concerns of loneliness, but we have the friend that sticks closer than a brother. Why is it then that so many Christians are defeated, alone, depressed, discontented, and friendless? I began to ponder this issue and it dawned on me that it could possibly be because the church world has one mold. Many groups of spirit filled churches seem to attract the same type of person and you can identify them in public. While an identity in Christ and identification with a group of believers is a good thing, we need to strike a balance between the core of who we are as individual believers and who we are as a body. Far too often I have seen people not be interested in Christ, or leave the body because they have never found their place. Every individual has their own strengths, interests, and desires. Every individual has their own personality. God has not called us to fit a cookie cutter, but to be disciples of him.
We can all find our identities in Christ, and we should be identifiably separate from the world in our lifestyle, attitude, and choices. However, beyond that, God gets glory in our individuality. He created us all with a free will and with the ability to make different choices. Everyone has a different personality. Some are shy, some are outgoing, some are smart, some are not so smart, some are talented in music, some are talented in computers, and others still, are leaders and others are followers. God has no desire for us to all become the same shape of cookie in his kingdom. Too many people have chosen no identity in Christ because they are afraid of losing who they are. They don't want to be someone that wears suits. It is ashamed that we have tried to "institutionalize" the body of Christ. The arm and the leg don't look alike. They are identifiable as being from the same body, but they perform different functions and look differently. If you are white, your arm and leg are both white, if you are black, your limbs also match, however, beyond that, they are distinctly different. This same thing can be said for the body of Christ. We should all be identifiable as part of the same body. We should have some characteristics that immediately identify us as believers, but beyond that, we should be comfortable in our individuality and different function.
I guess I want to say, don't let another soul be lost because they don't want to wear a suit to church. Allow them to express their identity in themselves and be plugged into the body. Somethings that God asks us to do require us to lay aside our own desires and selfish will, however, more often than not, God gets delight in our creativity and differences. Remember, we serve a creative God. He designed and created the world we live in. He has a sense of humor. (This is very obvious when we look at some people. haha) He gets glory when we express who we are. We need to find our identity in Christ without sacrificing our interests and pursuits. Obviously, there are some human interests and pursuits that are contrary to the Word of God. These are called principals. We can teach people principals of the Word of God and use that as the guide that we live by. We get a new name and identity when we are born into the body of Christ, he transforms our thinking and choices, but he doesn't take away your sense of humor, goals, and abilities. Celebrate your diversity within Christ!
God wants to change our sinful nature and have us die out to our sin man, he never asked us to lay aside our personality and creativity! We are the expressed image and likeness of God. God is creative, true, and just. God is friendly, kind, and loving. Let us fit our self within the principles of God and delight in his creative powers.
Rom 6:6
6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;
NASU
Eph 4:22-24
22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you A lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
NASU
Col 3:9-10
1 A Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him —
NASU
We can all find our identities in Christ, and we should be identifiably separate from the world in our lifestyle, attitude, and choices. However, beyond that, God gets glory in our individuality. He created us all with a free will and with the ability to make different choices. Everyone has a different personality. Some are shy, some are outgoing, some are smart, some are not so smart, some are talented in music, some are talented in computers, and others still, are leaders and others are followers. God has no desire for us to all become the same shape of cookie in his kingdom. Too many people have chosen no identity in Christ because they are afraid of losing who they are. They don't want to be someone that wears suits. It is ashamed that we have tried to "institutionalize" the body of Christ. The arm and the leg don't look alike. They are identifiable as being from the same body, but they perform different functions and look differently. If you are white, your arm and leg are both white, if you are black, your limbs also match, however, beyond that, they are distinctly different. This same thing can be said for the body of Christ. We should all be identifiable as part of the same body. We should have some characteristics that immediately identify us as believers, but beyond that, we should be comfortable in our individuality and different function.
I guess I want to say, don't let another soul be lost because they don't want to wear a suit to church. Allow them to express their identity in themselves and be plugged into the body. Somethings that God asks us to do require us to lay aside our own desires and selfish will, however, more often than not, God gets delight in our creativity and differences. Remember, we serve a creative God. He designed and created the world we live in. He has a sense of humor. (This is very obvious when we look at some people. haha) He gets glory when we express who we are. We need to find our identity in Christ without sacrificing our interests and pursuits. Obviously, there are some human interests and pursuits that are contrary to the Word of God. These are called principals. We can teach people principals of the Word of God and use that as the guide that we live by. We get a new name and identity when we are born into the body of Christ, he transforms our thinking and choices, but he doesn't take away your sense of humor, goals, and abilities. Celebrate your diversity within Christ!
God wants to change our sinful nature and have us die out to our sin man, he never asked us to lay aside our personality and creativity! We are the expressed image and likeness of God. God is creative, true, and just. God is friendly, kind, and loving. Let us fit our self within the principles of God and delight in his creative powers.
Rom 6:6
6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;
NASU
Eph 4:22-24
22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you A lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
NASU
Col 3:9-10
1 A Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him —
NASU
No comments:
Post a Comment