I Am? I Am!
There are a lot of pressing issues in today’s society. Among those is the question of self-identification. Magazines, talk shows, even employment applications, are asking the question, “How do you self-identify?”
One might argue that that’s been the question since the beginning of mankind.
Genesis 3:1-7 (emphasis added):
1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Adam and Eve were tricked into believing that they could be “as gods.” They, through the serpent’s manipulation, attempted to identify themselves instead of trusting that they had already been identified, made “after the likeness” of God. At creation, they had been given everything that pertained to life and godliness. Instead of resting in the assurance that they were created in the image of the Godhead, they tried to secure their own identity. They tried to be something (someone) other than what (who) God had told them that they were.
So, what about us? How do we self-identify?
This is not a question about race, ethnicity or sexual orientation. It is not even about who we are in Christ; it’s about who we see ourselves as in Him. To self-identify is to believe that you are a particular type of person. Today, as believers, are we calling ourselves something other than what God has called us? Are we believing something about ourselves that God didn’t say?
As we stroll through the garden of our lives, how is the serpent trying to beguile us? What sour nothings is he whispering in our ears? Like Adam and Eve, are we listening to and walking in agreement with the deception?
Failure. “You never do anything right.” Unwanted. “No one loves you.” Sick. “You’re never going to get well.” Poor. “You’re never going to have enough.” Incapable. “You can’t.”
Or maybe we see ourselves as perfect, in need of nothing. Maybe we’re wise in our own eyes.
Do we believe, sometimes, that God is keeping something from us? Does this make us want to take it upon ourselves to create our own identities, become our own gods?
The enemy’s first target was our sense of sight. The eyes – – – the place that perceives most of the information about the world around us. The eyes – – – the place where light enters the body. The serpent used sight to compromise identity.
God uses sight to confirm identity. Once our eyes open to truth, once our perspective changes, we will see the authority that we have as believers. We will view the world, and ourselves in it, through scarlet-tinted lenses.
I am learning that any time I call myself something other than what God has called me, I am self-identifying. And any time that I am self-identifying, I am lying.
Our natural identity is always in our DNA. Science calls it deoxyribonucleic acid, the genetic instructions that formulate our growth, development, functioning and reproduction. Our DNA is our uniqueness in humanity.
Our spiritual identity is in our DNA as well. I call it Divine Nature from Adonai. It is our bloodline. It is how we grow, develop, function and reproduce in the Kingdom. It is our uniqueness in Divinity.
Our identity in Christ is fixed. It is the acknowledgement and acceptance of our identity that has the power to change our lives. As we see truth, we’ll speak truth. And as we speak truth, we’ll live truth. I challenge you, Sister, to look into the mirror of the Word and see in yourself what God sees in you. We are healed…victorious…beloved…favored…redeemed…virtuous…
There is no confusion, crisis or mistake in Christian identity. Who Jesus says I am, I am.
PRINCIPLE: “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” I John 3:1-2
