There is a point in each of our lives when we begin to seek to discover ourselves. What I long for, what my deepest desire is when that time comes, we turn to God. For only in God can we find the truth about who we are, and it is only by growing in him are we able to see with discernment the way he sees.
The rest of your life will be marked by competition for your identity. This world is saturated with voices telling you how to live. It would like nothing more than to completely overwhelm you with inadequacy and misinformation toward every aspect of who you are. Make no mistake. You are in a fight! The very core of who you are is under attack.
Let’s win.
I had one consistent feeling as a young momma taking care of three littles. Trapped. I wonder if any of you feel that way? This feeling is not exclusive to those of us who have kids. You can feel this way in any stage of your life and in any area. Work. Family. Marriage. Life. Friends. It can turn into an endless cycle of defeat if we let it. Let’s not do that.
So, the question we pose to ourselves this week is now that we understand our foundation for identity rests in knowing that we are a child of God, what comes next? In this mad circus of life, what’s a girl to do with that information? Why does that knowledge, that foundation hold such relevance for us today? The answer lies in this : Knowing whose you are will always determine what you do. (excerpt from Who Am I? companion workbook)
If our first lesson was all about laying the foundation behind who we are as a child of God, this teaching will unpack what we do with that information. In other words, what comes next??
I am afraid many Christians are living in defeat because they have not moved past the beginning stage of their faith. They are perfectly happy with salvation. I mean who wouldn't be excited about being saved from death to life eternal? But the process of sanctification is so foreign a concept that many have missed out on the wonderful blessings that result from the refining. Let's change that. Let's look at what our part is now that we know we are a child of God and unravel the responsibilities that come with being that child.
I love a good job description! I am the kind of person that wants to know what to do and for the child of God we find that information in Romans 12: 1-2.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Recognizing and fulfilling your part or your responsibility as a child of God will come in three steps.
Be a living sacrifice.
This means that as a child of God you wake up each day and die to self to live for God. You surrender your own agenda to live for God's. You allow God to order your steps for the day and watch as he does something amazing in your life. God knows that for a child of God, only the dead truly live. Be that living sacrifice.
Do not conform to the pattern of this world.
God is definitly clear here - he says, "Do not." As a child of God, part of our responsibility is to look, talk and act like that child. The word conform here is indicative of molding into a particular shape. We are admonished to not be shaped after the pattern of this world. But God does not leave us with a do not without telling us the do this. I love that about him!
Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
This step in the Christian life is nothing new or earth shattering. In order for our lives to be transformed we must daily - sometimes hourly - renew our minds. This renewal comes by spending time with God through his Word and in prayer and surrounding ourselves within a community that is doing the same. When we operate this way our minds are consistently reset to the things of God instead of the pattern of this world. It is simple, but it will not be easy. It will take daily discipline of being that living sacrifice, but praise God, when we follow our job description he blesses us with a benefit that only he, as our Father, can give. You can find it in the last part of Romans 12:1-2.
Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
When you practice the three steps of our job description you will know what God's will is for your life. I can't help but think that is speaking to someone right now! Who doesn't want to know what to do with their life? What assurance, what comfort we receive from God when we practice Romans 12:1-2! Instead of aimless living, feeling defeated or trapped each day, the child of God can live and walk in victory while on this earth. This is the refining, the sanctification process that comes with being God's child. This is our part our responsibility as that child. And when we do this thing, sister, we can live in confidence that we are within that good, pleasing and perfect will of our Father. This is who we are.
Want to know more about the Who Am I? study? Go to the contacts page for more information, and check out the blog for previous snippets of the Who Am I? Bible study.