Who Am I?

Following a recent brush with what could have turned into an identity theft situation, Brooks and I had to take steps to protect our personal information.  It was not what we had planned to do that afternoon!  Scams are everywhere and even when you think you would never be that gullible…well, then it happens to you.  I cannot imagine how many people get hit every day by scammers.  After placing some fraud alerts and other safety measures we feel pretty secure that our information is as safe as it can be.  It is mind blowing how easily somebody can steal your life, taking your identity away from you.

Afterward, contemplating this scary event I remembered that there is a sure hiding place, a cliff of protection and hands that hold us so that nothing and nobody can steal us away.  That place and those hands are none other than Jesus!   Romans 8:38-39 gives us proof of that promise.  “I’m convinced that nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord: not death or life, not angels or rulers, not present things or future things, not powers  or height or depth, or any other thing that is created.”  My identity is safe in Jesus!  Once I gave my life to Him, nothing and no one can separate me from Jesus.  What a comforting thought.

In the gospel of John chapter 10, Jesus refers to himself as the good shepherd before going on in verses 27-29 to say, “My sheep listen to my voice.  I know them and they follow me.  I give them eternal life.  They will never die, and no one will snatch them from my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them from my Father’s hand.”   Here again is the promise that we cannot be moved once we belong to Jesus.  Hallelujah!

Yes, having someone steal your identity and make their way into your bank accounts and credit cards or borrow money as you can wreak havoc in your life but far worse is to never have identified yourself with Christ. 

It is a shame that there are people who do this sort of thing, but the Bible tells us man’s heart is wicked in Jeremiah 17:9 and we read in Proverbs 6:14, “Their hearts are corrupt and determined to do evil; they create controversies all the time.”  

Our true identity is ultimately based on what God has done for each of us.  In God we are:  loved, chosen, forgiven, redeemed and adopted.

The last stanza of the poem by Deborah Ann Belka, Who Am I in Christ , is a fitting closing for today’s devotion.

I am sealed for the day of redemption

I am called to eternal glory I am the aroma of Christ to God I am crucified with Christ I am not ashamed I am a sinner I am forgiven I am born again and I am going to heaven!

Who are you without Christ?

Devotions this week all came from Pearls of Great Price - 2023