Two ways we confuse identity with activity (and why knowing this will change your life)

Do you dream of a time when you’ll be REALLY significant?

One day…

I’ll do something really useful for God.

I’ll quit work and go to Bible college.

I’ll help the poor.

I’ll open a home up for women suffering from domestic violence.

One day…

Or do you feel crushed by expectations that you place on yourself or you feel from others to do something REALLY significant in your life?

Perhaps more than being a stay at home mum, or more than doing your 9-5 job, more than…

1. You don’t have to do anything to get God’s approval

Identity comes before activity in the Christian life.

We see this in the Bible.

God affirmed Jesus at his baptism before he had done anything! Not one little miracle. ‘This is my son, with whom I am pleased’.

Once God had affirmed who he was, he then went on and did what he did.

"You aren’t what’s been done to you but what Jesus has done for you.
You aren’t what you do but what Jesus has done.What you do doesn’t determine who you are.
Rather, who you are in Christ determines what you do”.Mark Driscoll

Do you believe that God is pleased with you, not because of what you do, but because of who he has made you to be?

That is the goal of the Christian life.

Not doing, but becoming.

Not striving, but resting.

So keep dreaming…but don’t let it define your identity

Keep working….but don’t feel like you have to live up to your or anyone else’s expectations.

2. Your ministry is not your identity

However for some, you love your work. Things are going well. You may be a pastor, a youth leader, a school teacher, a doctor, a…

And when it’s all going well, life is rosy.

A good day at work and we feel great.

The problem is that we can gain our significance from our achievements. As our achievements mount, our sense of being significant, of changing the world we live in, can grow.

And we can start to feel that we are more accepted by God because of how well we are doing.

And slowly but surely, ministry, work and even family can gradually become our identity.

This is a fundamental error.

And we don’t often see it until we have a crisis. Until our achievement dips, or we are let down by a system, or we lose our job, or we make a mistake.

And our identity takes a hit. This might show itself in

a constant need for reassurance and affirmation

a need for recognition before others

a crisis when you don’t perform or have a tough appraisal

Because when your identity is at stake, these things become an attack on the core of your being. 

Let your true identity feed your activity

But if you are a Christian, your identity is in Christ. You are adopted (Ephesians 1:5), Accepted (1:6), Loved (2:4), Exalted (2:6) – just read Ephesians for many, many more.

When you know your true identity, it changes everything.

It means you are significant whatever your achievements may or not be.

It means that your ministry may have ups and downs, but your identity, your value, your significance as a child of God is absolutely unaltered.

I truly believe that believing this is a key that will unlock so much potential and release people to be who they have been made to be.

Because when you know who you really are, you’ll know what to do.