Joni and Friends Daily Devotional
Choosing Your Identity
"Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore, do not be partners with them. For you were once darkness but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light."
Ephesians 5:6-8
A young teen cried out to her dad after a hard day of school and family life with that age-old question, "Who am I?" Caught between her identity as a child of the family and as a friend of peers, she felt confused.
Answering the question is not as easy as you might think. It's easy to answer 'what' we are or 'where' we are or even 'why' we are. But beyond one's name, there is little to claim as something that is uniquely our identity. No wonder the dad answered the question in quite different terms. He said, "Jessica, you are the choices you make and the friends you keep. That is how people will know you. And oddly enough, that is how you will come to know yourself as well."
A Christian's place as a child of light sets the stage for our identity. But it is in the day-to-day, nitty gritty choices of life through which we craft our ultimate identity. And not only do our decisions define us, so do our friends. Children of light can stand down front and center with those who love Jesus, or they can hide in the faint shadows upstage with empty, vain conversations of those who do not believe.
Just as Jessica can go to her father for lessons in her identify, so too can you and I ask our Father for answers. "Make choices that show well in the light," he will tell us. "And have you seen my Son? Spend time with Him and you will be like Him."
_____________________________
God knows who you are. And He has destined you to be like His Son. We don't need to doubt our identity. If we simply live as he asks, we will find it.
Fashion me by Your Holy Spirit, Father, to become like Your Son. Grant me friends who love You and the will to choose that which is lovely in Your sight.
Blessings,
Joni and Friends
www.joniandfriends.org
No comments:
Post a Comment