On Identity

I have a confession to make… I let my identity get wrapped up in my earthly titles instead of my heavenly title.  I saw this anew when I resigned from being Pastor of Adult Ministries at Christ Community Church on December 21, 2010. I felt (and still feel to some degree) disoriented.  Who am I?  What is my life about?  What should I do now?  I realize how little I have allowed the truth of God’s Word to serve as a foundation for who I am, but rather have depended too heavily on earthly things.  So, I go back now to God’s Word and I am reminded of my heavenly title – son!

The Apostle John is one of my favorite writers in the Bible, I think because he seems to have a tender heart.  As I have been processing through the changes in my life, I have drawn back to his first letter and the following reminders of my true identity…

“…indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3 ESV).

“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are” (1 John 3:1 ESV).

“Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2 ESV).

And then throw in a dose of the Apostle Paul…

“For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him” (Romans 8:15-17 ESV).

“…he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will…” (Ephesians 1:5 ESV).

How about you? Any identity strugglers out there like me? Maybe I am the only one.

The Power of God’s Word

I rarely like to post about my personal life, but I feel a need to share something in this post that I hope brings encouragement to all those who attend church on Sundays and hear God’s Word preached. Let me first give you the reason why I feel this need.

A person said to me once that my church is all about theology and “head knowledge” and not about transformed lives. He seemed to see some kind of disconnect between what people know and say and how they are living their lives. I imagine there might be some truth to this observation in certain specific cases.  But, I have two responses to people who believe things like this. First, welcome to living as a Christian. What we know almost always out paces our ability to live it out consistently. Think about the doctrine of God’s sovereignty. What might our lives look like if we lived that truth out completely and consistently? Second, I believe the Word of God preached and taught transforms our lives on an every day, practical level in ways that are not always quantifiable.  Here’s where I get to myself and my family.

Back when my pastor was preaching on the James’ epistle, he spoke on James 1:27:

“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”

My wife Chrissie was cut to heart by the sermon based on this text. We went to lunch afterward and she tearfully shared how she realized that she had a heart for children without a mom and dad, the orphans. I shared I had similar feelings. We then set out to somehow minister to these children. Foster parenting through a Christian organization seemed like a good route, so we registered with an agency and went through the many hours of required training. But God had other plans for us. He dropped two beautiful twin 3 year old girls into our lives through a friendship we have with a relative of theirs and we are now their legal guardians and hopefully their adoptive parents in due time.

So, why do I share this? Because I firmly believe that God’s primary way of working in the hearts and lives of His people is through the preached Word. The Word transforms. In our case, the Word of God transformed our very family in an amazing and radical way, a way we never expected.

So, I say to any person who thinks the way the person I mentioned earlier thinks, “Don’t you believe that God does not work through His preached Word in churches. My family is living proof that He does. Maybe your regard for the power of God’s Word is way too low. It is powerful! If you have any doubt, look at the picture I have embedded in this post.”

Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”