“…who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Do you know who you are?
The search for identity is often lost in what we do, what has been done to us, or labels like sexuality, gender, race, political affiliation, economics, popularity, followers, or likes. I wonder what you would add to the list.
What if our true identity is derived from what someone has done for us?
Taking a backward walk through Galatians 2:20, we will unfold four truths and how they speak to our identity.
“My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20, NLT
Who Loved Me and Gave Himself For Me
“Who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20d
The Creator of the universe left the comforts of heaven to become like the ones He created. Jesus walked on this earth so His creation could know Him and how much He loved them. Because our Creator is perfect and holy, while we are broken and sinful, He loved us enough to build a plan for bridging the gap between His unflawed nature and our nature toward flaws.
If I, or if you, were the only human on the earth, God sent His Son, Jesus, to die on our behalf to be the bridge. Jesus, who knew no sin died for our sins. Jesus gave himself for us. God loves us that much.
The foundation of being loved and that Christ gave Himself for us is where our identity begins. We need our hearts and minds to be like the rowdy classroom when the teacher says, “All eyes and ears on me,” and shift our attention, settling our focus on being loved and how Christ gave Himself for us – for you!
I Live By Faith In The Son of God
“I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God” Galatians 2:20c
When we build from a place of being loved and the sacrifice made on our behalf, we position ourselves for the breath of God to be the air in our lungs of identity. Our Creator knit into our lives the distinctiveness of His character for us. God speaks over us, distinguishes us as His child, and calls us by name. (Psalm 139; Isaiah 43:1)
The NRSV puts Galatians 2:20c this way, “the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God.” The word flesh instead of the term life illuminates the part of us where our appetites lay. Fleshly appetites are easily deceived and we believe the world offer’s something better. Our hearts and minds, like the rowdy kid in the classroom, hunger to satisfy our identity and we pull away from the only true Source to the voices that speak louder.
We become like the prodigal son who had everything the world could offer in addition to the love of his father; he was drawn to believe there was more and something better. He took what was his and went on an exploration of his appetites which landed him literally eating pig slop. (Luke 15:11-32)
Walking out in faith in our true identity is not easy when the world tries to tell us, entice us, and even pressure us to pursue lesser identities. Faith chooses to cast our sight on the things we cannot see and believe in God to fulfill what He has promised.
Christ Lives In Me
“It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” Galatians 2:20b
What does it mean to live with the power of the resurrected Christ in us? When we look up from the pig slop of a mess we are in, admit how unfulfilled our false identities make us, and change our intentions toward Christ; He empowers us to stay on the path. With each step of faith, our identity is strengthened by Christ in us, and unity with Christ becomes more intoxicating than our lesser identities.
Christ in us connects with the part of God’s DNA knitted together while we are in were in our mother’s womb so that someday we would bear His image to the world. When the created realizes the fulfillment of being spoken into by the Creator, it is like the rare moment when a student listens, receives, and grasps for the first time a new concept the teacher has been teaching. (Genesis 1:26; Psalm 139:13-14)
We tell ourselves the truth by saying “no” to the things that pull us away from who God says we are. We believe that Jesus’ prayer, “that they may be one as we are one….so that we may be brought to complete unity,” is being answered through us, through you. We believe we have the mind of Christ, and therefore we can and do have the ability to think like Christ. We live out who we are in Christ. (John 17:23; Philippians 2:5)
My Old Self Has Been Crucified With Christ
“My old self has been crucified with Christ.” Galatians 2:20a
I am not enough. I am not valued. I am overlooked. I am incapable. I must try harder. I am not smart. I always fail. I am defective. What would you add to this list of false identities?
These messages no longer define us.
We take each message, each false identity we have come to embrace about ourselves, and daily nail it to the cross. “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23, NLT).
Each pound of the hammer drives our false identities further and further out of our lives, creating space for the Spirit to heal and breathe new life into our God-given identities to sprout and grow and prosper. With each false message of who we are that comes at us, we crucify as an imposter’s voice. (John 10:27)
We walk toward the Voice of Truth, the one who loves us and gave Himself for us. The One we now place our trust in and believe that He who lives in us is greater than the one who is in the world. And we take another step in our God-given identity.
I pray you find deep satisfaction in the love and truth of Christ, Who gave Himself for you. May you crucify all appetites and messages that oppose who you truly are in Christ. May your appetite be only for who God says you are. May the Spirit sprout within you joy, contentment, and an abundance of messages that speak over and over to you about how He sees you. So be it, in Jesus’ name.
Meditate: Christ gave Himself for me
Reflect: What direction am I walking – in faith towards my God-given identity or in the flesh towards identities of this world? Take a moment to write down our think through a list of false messages you have believed about yourself and pray through nailing each one on the cross, leaving them with Christ. Ask God, Who do you say I am? What are some ideas of things you could do differently to walk in the faith of who God says you are?
Rooted: Psalm 139; Galatians 2:16-20; Colossians 3
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