Internal Character

We often build our identity on what we do without realizing it. Some clues that we have placed our identity in something besides Jesus are that surrounding whatever we are putting our identity in are negative emotions and behaviors, such as getting easily angered, anxiety, the inability to rest, obsessive thoughts, getting easily offended, becoming hurtful towards others, being boastful, the inability to let go of control. Some clues that we are finding our identity in Christ are the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22). This fruit naturally grows in us as we find our identity in Christ. Yet, the world would tell us that we need to find our identity in what we do. We lock eyes on a finish line and do everything we can to make it, but what happens when we cross that finish line? What’s next? When we live for the next promotion, the next pay raise, the next success, the next job, the next achievement, the next car, the next house, the next vacation; we chase things that are temporary and insufficient. When we lose these things, we question who we are. When we find our identity in Christ, we are secure in an identity that is eternal and unchanging. We know who we are and we can live out of that identity. We don’t have to live for what’s next to find who we are, we get to trust in the immovable identity in Christ. Instead of working to achieve an identity, Christ has already done the work to achieve it for us. There’s nothing left for us to do but receive what we have been given. Reflection/Discussion Question: What are you noticing yourself finding your identity in that isn’t Christ?

Matthew 28:18-19 says, “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age’” (NIV). With these words, Jesus instituted the mission of the church. He sent his followers on a mission and that movement hasn’t stopped or slowed down ever since. Even in the face of terrible persecution and rising opposition, the church has pressed on. How is it that this mission has been able to withstand centuries of opposition? It is by the will of the Father, the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the force of the Holy Spirit. There are many good causes that can make waves of change, but none is more powerful than the Gospel. The Gospel has the power to make us new creations. The Gospel has the power to transform hearts of stone into hearts of flesh. No other cause has the same power as the Gospel. Instead of putting our hope in something that is limited by the finite nature of this earth, we can put our hope in the Creator of heaven and earth. In the midst of trouble and hardship, we can look to Jesus and fix our eyes on the mission he has given us. After all, his mission cannot be thwarted by mere worldly problems. They may seem significant to us, but they’re vastly insignificant in light of the eternal work Jesus is doing through the power of his Gospel. Reflection/Discussion Question: How are you living out the mission of Jesus in your life right now