Pastor’s Corner: “How do You Identify?”
Genesis 32:28 (NLT) – 28 “Your name will no longer be Jacob,” ….. “From now on you will be called Israel,
When I was growing up I went by my middle name – Bryan. My brother, sister and other relatives still call me Bry to this day. My mom thought it would be better to go by my middle name Bryan rather than my first name Hamilton so as not to be made fun of (only my wife and Steve Benton can call me Ham). All my paperwork showed my first name as Hamilton, so needless to say there was always a lot of confusion from teachers to what my name was. When I turned 18, I felt like it was time to start going by my given name, my first name as shown on my birth certificate. I guess I felt like it was time to grow up.
Many people have an identity crisis. Numerous voices try to tell us who and what we are from the time we are born. It is popular today to connect our Identities to our sexuality, race, political party or country of origin. Many of us connect our Identity to our career, education or status. All of these are lack the full breadth and depth of who we are and who we were created to be.
Throughout the Bible, we can see God changing people’s identities. God called Gideon “a mighty man of valor” when he was defeated and hiding from the enemy. Often God calls us something even though there is no physical evidence to support it, but He is God. When God changes a name, it indicates that something new has happened or will happen to that person—a new relationship, a new character quality, or a new phase of life.
The book of Genesis paints a clear picture of how God can change someone. Much of Jacob’s early life was characterized by deceit—but once he confessed his manipulative behavior, God gave him a new identity and a new name. Jacob’s name meant to supplant or to evade. God gave Him the new name Israel which translates as prince (son) of God.
In Genesis 32, God essentially says, “I know you’ve blown it and I know you’re deceitful, but—beneath all your emotional hang-ups, all your insecurities, all the stuff you don’t want anybody else to know—I see you and you are my son.” God may be saying that to you today: “Beneath all of your sins and hang-ups, I see royalty. You are mine. I don’t make junk. You can be something great. You can be what I made you to be.” God does his deepest work in your life when he deals with your identity—the person you truly are as opposed to the way you see yourself. The way you think about yourself dictates how you act. So God makes his deepest changes in your life by changing the way you see yourself—by showing you how He sees you.
Jesus sees in you what you can be—regardless of what you are. God knows what we are and loves us just the same, but He loves us enough to not leave us that way Philippians 1:6 (NLT) 6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. He is changing us. Whoever trusts in Jesus for forgiveness of sins, the One who is the “Name above all names,” receives a new name—“Christian” (little Christ)—and also a new life, a new purpose, and a new destiny.
Look at what Jesus promised to all who believe in Him: (Revelation 2:17; 3:12) I will give him . . . a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it. . . . I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name. When you see yourself the way God sees you, it’s going to change your life!
So, how do you identify? Or, better, “who are you really?” As for followers of Jesus, one identity rises above all the others. We are servants of Christ Jesus. No identity is higher. None is more important. No matter who or what else you are, this is the one we must never forget because it travels with us wherever we go (all the way to heaven and eternity). This identity changes everything. This identity is the greatest identity we’ll ever have. We are servants of Christ Jesus!
In His Grace,
Pastor Hamilton