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Presented by Julie Busteed
We have been talking about our identity. How we identify ourselves, how we think about ourselves. Here’s a definition of identity: it is the set of qualities, beliefs, personality traits, appearance, or expressions that characterize a person.
Unfortunately, finding your identity is never as easy as looking up the definition. There are so many factors that come into play. For example, culture will tell you how to deal with an identity crisis: they advise you to ground yourself in your core values, be aware of your emotions, create a mental fitness plan, enlist the help of a coach, and stay optimistic about the future.
While these may “sound” good, they are really all dependent on you. They rely on your own strength and might, and that is daunting. But if your foundation is the Word of God, you have a trustworthy and reliable source that is relevant to your life today.
If you are in Christ, a Christ-follower, then you have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16).
Back to the dictionary. Webster defines the mind as the part of a person that feels, perceives, thinks, wills, and reasons. Since we have the mind of Christ, we have the Holy Spirit. The Spirit who knows the thoughts of God, teaches us, guides us, helps us to obey, brings joy and freedom, produces fruit in us, transforms us, and the list goes on. In every area of our life, we can have the mind of Christ and understand spiritual things.
What would happen if you made it your goal to constantly pursue the mind of Christ? What would happen if that became your identity?
As we continue on this journey of realizing our true identity in Christ, we will be changed to be more and more like him. I pray as Paul does for the Ephesians:
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe (Ephesians 1:18-19).
