Embracing Your Identity in Christ

Learning the Life Skill of De-fusion    

Are you still playing King of the Hill? Are you trying to play it alone? We learned this game as children, proving our superiority by fending off challengers who tried to knock us from our mound of dirt. Some kids waited until there were no challengers before standing on their mound and loudly declaring, “I am king of the hill!” But that title was fickle, whether we earned it or simply claimed it.

Today, we often call this kind of identity self-image. More accurately, though, it is others’-image—basing our sense of self on what we have done, what we have experienced, or how others view us. Just like tabloids’ reviews of celebrities, those identities are fickle. Unlike the tabloids’ reviews, however, our true identity is not.

As we learn that life experiences, others’ opinions, and even our own thoughts and feelings do not define us, some of us go on a quest to “find ourselves.” Yet rather than spending a lifetime searching, or turning to fickle and subjective sources to tell us who we are, we can receive our true identity from an objective, eternal source.

You see, we often confuse our roles in life with our identity. As our roles change—from child to adult, student to professional, single to married, childless to parent, married to divorced or widowed, parent to empty-nester, or employed to unemployed or retired—we too often believe we must find ourselves all over again. This is where de-fusing our identity from subjective, temporary elements can be both freeing and healing.

When we embrace who God says we are, our identity becomes clear, and our lives take on new meaning. Are you struggling to find yourself? Have you allowed your experiences, others’ opinions, or your own thoughts and feelings to define you? You do not have to keep standing on a shaky mound, defending a title that was never meant to hold you. Let Christian Care and Coaching help you engage this fifth principle of ACT, de-fuse from what is temporary, and embrace your true identity in Christ.