Where do you find your identity? That is a great question to ask yourself. If you are like most Americans you probably find your identity in your career, your family, your success, or your possessions, just to name a few things. But these things will fail you.
In Surprised by Oxford, a past professor offers up this crucial advice concerning identity to Carolyn:
“What is important is that my identity doesn’t lie primarily in being a professor, or being a wife, or even in being a mother. Those things will always fall short. Entire careers get swept away at a moment’s notice at the presentation of a pink slip, a vote of the elders, an accusation of a student, a cut in the budget. Marriages face infidelities, for instance, and end up like car wrecks from which people can recover but are never again the same. Children grow up and move far away and forget to write or call – as they should.” She smiled wistfully.
“The point is, if you have your identity in any of these things, it’s surefire disappointment. Anything man-made – or woman-made, for that matter – will and does fail you. Having my identity in Christ first and foremost gives me the courage – yes, the courage – to live my life boldly, purposefully, in everything I do, no matter what that is.”
I believe her professor is right. Jesus Christ is the only One who will never fail us. Everything else this world has to offer will, but Jesus will be there forever. So why find your identity in anything else?
Questions for Reflection
- Where do you find your identity?
- Do you realize that everything else will ultimately fail you? Agree or disagree?
- Are you willing to commit to finding your identity in Jesus instead of in the world?
Christianity Matters 