What if your identity doesn't just stop at being in Christ but also includes all the other things that make you, you?
Yes, our identity is in Christ. But I think it includes a whole bunch of other stuff we ignore and never talk about.
First and foremost, as followers of Jesus we are saved by grace, loved unconditionally with a love fiercer than the fire of a thousand suns and stronger than death. We are fearfully and wonderfully made, knit together in our mother's womb, created in the image of God. We have value and worth beyond measure. We are not sheep without a shepherd, we know to whom we belong, who we can trust, and our place in the kingdom, being in the world and not of it (not that all these things are easy to understand and believe). Identity in Christ transforms who we were before Christ, to who we are becoming.
I am thankful that as followers of Jesus our identity in Christ unites us with a multitude of diverse sisters and brothers across the world. People I've never met, who look completely different to me and speak languages I may never understand. I am thankful that our identity in Christ is the foundation from which everything else grows. Identity in Christ should surely come before anything else – gender, denomination, nationality, sexuality, or political opinion.
But I am also thankful that it includes more.
Do you love to bake? Do you love to write? Do you love to run? Do you love to find out how things work? Do you love to find out how people work? Do you love to figure out how they could work better? Do you love to welcome people into your home? Are you introverted? Extroverted? Do you love to teach? Do you love to fix things? Do you love to paint? Do you love to debate ideas? Do you love to create beautiful environments? The list goes on.
What if the things "knit together" doesn't refer so much to our physical bodies but to our personality, our strengths and the things we love? What if when we read about our old selves dying to Christ it doesn't mean erasing the good with the bad? What if having a better idea of our personality and characteristics frees us to love more fully, serve more joyfully?
I used to host a church small group with two of my flatmates. I loved having a flat full of people eating food and discussing life, love and faith. But after an hour and a half I was exhausted and just wanted them all to leave. I'd always thought it was just because maybe I didn't really like people or was inhospitable. I dreaded it and felt guilty every week. Eventually, just avoiding being at home that evening and leaving my flatmates to host. This continued for some months until as part of a work training day I took a Christian personality test. The trainer took one look at my answers and said: "You're the kind of person that loves to have people over but tires of it very quickly and just wants them to leave." Yes! I thought, I'm not the only one! That test result made me realise that maybe hosting a small group wasn't the best way I could serve as part of my church and that that was OK. So I stopped hosting the small group and instead we invited a few people from church over for Sunday dinner every few weeks. Much more fun and a lot less dread.
Understanding this part of my identity freed me to love from my strengths and serve without dread and guilt. We are united in Christ, but different. And this difference gives us the beautiful opportunity to love and serve from our strengths, not our weaknesses. It frees us to create new things and solutions to problems.
