Identity and Purpose
Welcome Readers!
This is Melody Polar once again bringing to you the Controversial Book Club’s weekly devotional. Today, I want to bring to your attention an extremely important topic: who we are in Christ. So come on and join me in looking at what the Bible has to say on a Christian’s identity and purpose!
In America, our culture is focused on the importance of individualism and how a person identifies themselves. Our culture places independence and individualism above most other values. And yes, we as Christians need to preserve our identity as such. However, we need to remember that our identity in Christ does not allow for complete individualism.
John 1:12 says
“ But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His Name, he gave the right to be called children of God,”
Christians are not Christians by their own right. Without a belief in Christ, they could not claim this honor as children of God. Moreover, this adoption into God’s family is not something deserved by a person simply because they believe in the Light — Jesus. No, this verse says that God gave us this right. Without God’s choice to give us this, we would not have this privilege.
It is this truth of Salvation as a gift that causes our identity as Christians to not truly be individualistic. As Christians, our job is to act as Christians — following the example of a Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1). We are not to work for our own interests, which is what individualism is, rather we are to
“Work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive your reward. You are serving the Lord.”
Here’s the thing, Christianity goes against the world’s culture because Christians aren’t to have a me-first attitude like the world’s. No, we are called to be servants of Christ. In fact, not even servants — slaves actually. Christ says whoever wants to be first must be a slave of all (Mark 10:44).
You see, a Christian is no longer his own when he turns to Christ. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
“You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.”
So is being an individual a problem? Of course not! God has made each of us unique individuals, but a Christian is called to glorify the Lord with their lives. This can be done in large ways such as becoming a pastor or missionary, or in something as small as choosing to read something God-honoring rather than watch a movie filled with unclean language.
As Christians, we are serving the Lord. We act as individuals as we go about our daily lives, but we need to remember that our purpose is to glorify God in all that we do. Rather than seeking to serve our own selfish desires or the world’s ideas of what is best for us, we need to serve the Lord.
Let’s Pray:
Dear God,
Thank You for the privilege You gave me to be called a Christian! It fills me with awe that You would adopt me as Your child. But Lord, often I forget what I should be doing as Your child. I give in to my own selfish desires. I turn to worldly pleasures. Please remind me that I am bought with a price. Remind me that my purpose is to glorify you. Take my eyes off the things of this world and turn them toward you. Help me to act as your slave, rather than as my own. Lord, I glorify You because of who You are, and I thank You for all that You have done for me.
In Your Son’s blessed Name I pray,
Amen
Related Verse:
Related Songs:
Servant Of All — Patch The Pirate
Not I But Christ — Herbster Evangelistic Team
Image: By Duncan Sanchez on Unsplash
— Melody❤
Great job, Mel! You always deliver with these devotionals :)
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of something I read recently. I read that you can't operate as a Christian effectively if you're not in a community of believers. There's a reason why Jesus is desribed as the head and Christians as the body; we each serve different purposes and must communicate.
ReplyDeleteso basically the book said don't cut the head off of Jesus and throw away the rest of the body. It's a weird analogy but I think the point is clear.
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