In Christ

"You are blessed, accepted, forgiven, adopted, chosen, redeemed, and loved."

So many people struggle with identity. They find it in anything they think can give them happiness. They don't realize nothing can give them happiness except for Christ. Finding your identity in Christ is a lifelong struggle and it's impossible to do on your own. But through God, all things are possible.

A God-centered, gospel identity is the realization that your worth is in Christ and living life knowing nothing can ever change that. Your identity is not in your grades, your looks, or your popularity. It's not in your talents, what people think of you, or even the expectations of your parents. No. Your worth and identity are in Christ. And in order to believe that, you have to realize the power, depth, and truth of this statement:

"We are more sinful, wretched, and evil

than we know or are willing to admit.

God is more holy, sovereign, and

powerful than anyone can ever comprehend.

In Christ, we are more blessed,

accepted, forgiven, adopted,

chosen, redeemed, and loved than

we could ever dare to hope or believe."

What does it mean to have your identity 'in Christ'? It means we don't have to strive towards a gospel identity on our own. Christ is the ultimate giver of it and will overwhelm us again and again with the truths of who we are.

We are blessed. Christ has given us a new life. We have everything we need, and even more than we need. He has given us people that love and encourage us. We have been set free from sin. God is with us. He has r e s t o r e d our broken hearts. This is just a glimpse of the blessing that has been poured out and will be poured out on us. How awesome is that??

We are accepted. God doesn't let our insecurities, our past sins, or our quirks push him away. He embraces us, accepts us just how we are. He erased our sin, took away our blame, and l o v e s us, flaws and all.

We are forgiven. Our sins are gone. Just let that sink in. They are gone. As far as the east is from the west. Diminished. Never to be seen again. When Jesus died on the cross, he took and forgave every. single. one. of our sins - past, present, and future - and put them on himself. As if that weren't enough, he gave us his perfectly clean record. We are now blameless, because of the overwhelming forgiveness of God.

We are adopted and chosen. He chose us before the foundation of the world to. be. HIS. Let that soak in. We are His. He adopted us into his perfect family, as his kids, whom he loves, adores, and would do anything for.

We are redeemed. Redeemed literally means bought back. We were slaves to sin, owned by sin, consumed by sin. And we couldn't do anything to change it. BUT GOD, in his great mercy, sent his only Son to die, to bring glory to himself, but also to free us, buy us back, pay in full the ransom for us. How sweet is that?

Lastly, we. are. loved. So much. I just can't stress this enough. We are so loved. To hear this is one thing, but to believe it, to make it more than just empty words on a page…only God can give us this realization that HE, the Creator of the universe, the One who IS peace, love and everything good, the One who inspired the Bible: LOVES US. He had absolutely no reason to rescue us from sin, slavery, and darkness. Except for one thing: l o v e. Immeasurable, steadfast, radical love. From God himself. To us. Wow. 

And that is the foundation of a gospel identity. There is so much d e p t h in having and understanding a gospel identity. It involves not only believing these truths, but living them. Making them a part of our everyday lives. Sharing them with others. And by God's grace, we will live as his children and encourage others to believe.