04/10/2023 – My identity
My identity – We draw a portion of our identities based on our occupations in life. For example, we can refer to “Sam the butcher” or “Alex the pharmacist”, you get the idea. The occupation is assigned to the individual, our minds would see “Sam” every time we are handling a meat product, or our minds would see “Alex” when we’re reviewing our prescriptions. As individuals we come to accept and even rely on these assignments of identity. For example, Sam works hard and takes pride in his work, he enjoys the fact that he is thought of as “Sam the butcher”. There is nothing wrong with that, but imagine if your identity is suddenly removed, what then?
Acts 9:3-4 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
Saul of Tarsus was an up-and-coming Pharisee, he studied under Gamaliel the great teacher of the law and a member of the Sanhedrin. Saul of Tarsus was also known for his devoted zealous belief of the Jewish faith. His passion led him to persecute the early church and to be present in their stoning, in some circles Saul would be the next Gamaliel, or even a member of the Sanhedrin. Then suddenly Saul’s identity of who he was, a Pharisee, who he studied under, Gamaliel, where his zeal was taking him a seat in the Sanhedrin, came to an abrupt stop. It was as if his life was a fast-moving car and suddenly had a front-end crash against an immovable force. It was no force; it was Christ Jesus which Saul’s life crashed against. The impact of the crash was so great, that Saul lost his strength and sight for a few days, but more importantly he permanently lost his past identity as a Pharisee.
What I am getting at is that Saul of Tarsus, a Pharisee, crashes against Jesus Christ, then out of the wreck comes out the Apostle Paul, a follower of Christ. Saul of Tarsus is now the Apostle Paul, a new identity!
Today let’s consider our own identity, those labels, those things we hold-on so dearly that make up who we are. Labels and things we have come to rely on as part of our identity. Today I encourage you to identify yourself with Christ instead.
Meditate on this verse today: Philippians 3:8 “Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ”