Identity (Names) Pt 2

We cannot love ourselves and nor can we accept the love of others as we should, not until we understand the love God has for us.

Identity plays such a key role in the understanding of our purpose. I have been following a bible study series started at Church titled,  ‘Who is Jesus?’ and it has been quite interesting and instructive. This has led me to ask ‘Who am I?’. I am thankful for the great and thought provoking conversations had with loved ones of recent (thank God for Godly community) because it is showing me the importance of identity.  It seems a  lot of the identity issues we face may be due to a lack of understanding of our savior Jesus Christ and thus who He has made us to be. On the contrary, it may be due to being identified by a past version of ourselves which prevents us from manifesting in our true identity.

“As a child of God, which we are already, we cannot be striving to be something that we already are, all that remains is for us to show and allow that identity to come out.”

We are to wear Him as our protection by ‘trusting in Him’, we are to see Him as the supplier of all our needs by ‘hoping in Him’ and we are to live like He is our supreme treasure by ‘loving Him’.

Case studies;

• In the last post I spoke about the Caesarea Philippi story (one of my favorite stories!) and the idea that Peter correctly recognized and identified Jesus. Peter who was previously known as Simon experiences a change in identity as well as a change in came when Jesus refers to him as ‘Peter’ or Cephas which means Rock. Jesus stated that ‘on this rock I will build my church’ (Matthew 16:18) which is quite interesting because it hints at Peter’s role and purpose in establishing and sharing the gospel of Jesus among the Jews of the time.

• In the old testament, we are introduced to Jacob, (whose name means ‘supplanter’) who is presented as a deceiver and manipulator because he tricks his older brother Esau out of his birthright and blessings. I would say this is why we cannot allow the world to tell us who we are. One can argue that was what his parents named him and  how everyone around him referred to him was what he came to emulate. The same people that called him Jacob aka ‘trickster’ were shocked when he started living up to his name. (#Confusion.com?) But guess what?  When Jacob encountered the living God, the fervency and   intentionality that was part of his nature overtook his old identity and resulted in his name and identity change to ‘Israel’. The name ‘Israel’ refers to the chosen people known as the Israelites, who were the promised descendants of Abraham. (Check out ‘The Bible Project’ on YouTube for a better explanation of this lineage!). Basically, he becomes known as the father of Joseph and one of the forefathers of the Israelites. Pretty cool, right?

• And of course the quintessential example is the great man himself; Jesus Christ. ‘Christ’  (Messiah) means the anointed one and ‘Jesus’ is similar to the Greek/Hebrew name, Joshua which means God is salvation. This clearly identifies and states the purpose of Jesus Christ, he was the Savior of the world and humanity by dying for our sins on the Cross, he was the anointed and appointed one.

“Who you are is a result of who you were, but where you end up depends entirely on who you choose to be from this moment forward.”     Hal Elrod

‘When you know the Word of God, you know the character of God’    Sadie Robertson

“You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”   1 Peter 2:9

‘ The biblical understanding of human self-identity is radically God-centered. As a Christian, one cannot talk about identity without talking about God’s action towards us, about our relationship with God and about the purpose of God for us.’

God has given us our specific and unique identity so that His identity might be proclaimed in the world through us since  we are all made in God’s image.

I pray for everyone seeking to find identity and discover who they are and all that God has called them to be. May God continue to reveal Himself to us and reveal who He has made us to be. May He grant us the grace to boldly and intentionally pursue that purpose He has given us, and thus exhibit the identity He has prepared for us. May we be strengthened to make the necessary changes and adjustments, if needed, to manifest our true identity in Christ. In Jesus name we pray.

Amen.

#IntentionalGrowth

Mo 🙂 x (aka Morenike, MamaT, Renny, MK, …. Daughter of The King, Girl On A Mission)

A young woman on a mission to discovering purpose, to inspire growth and contribute to the Kingdom mandate. On the blog we are all about learning and growing and this is done through writing on topics from Faith, Education, Music, Food, Travel and so much more… (Romans 12:2)
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