Identity, Purpose and Love

5/29/2024

Written By: Frieda Dowler

A quote from Paul the apostle in Galatians 2: 20 from The Message.

“Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not ‘mine’, but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Paul knew his identity was in Jesus Christ, and this gave him a purpose. He was an extremely religious man and upheld the law as a Pharisee before he encountered the resurrected Jesus. But when he found his true identity, he was empowered to meet the needs of people who were confused about who Jesus was. He went from there to establish congregations of Christians and play a huge role in early church growth.

When Paul encounter the resurrected Jesus, he came into his identity, which gave him purpose, and he was able to truly love people in order to accomplish the spread of the good news of Jesus as Messiah which changed the world.

Identity these days is often linked with which gender one identifies with. But this takes the focus off of a more important identity. Who we belong to. Who God says we are. Not who we say we are. When we realize who we belong to, we will identify as children of The King of the universe, who is more important than we are. When we come into a life in Christ, we become a part of God’s family and take on his identity.

Our world needs a Christ-centered message today more than ever. People are desperate for truth like a cold drink of water on a hot day. God wants us prepared to meet these needs by being firm in our identity and purpose so we can love people like God loves them.

God’s family is diverse, with unique personalities. Like Paul, when we identify with Christ, his life shines through us, producing beauty in the world. Think of a cut glass prism. When the sun shines through, it casts beautiful colors. Same rock, same sun, different colors. God has uniquely created us so we can reach a variety of people with His love.

Identity for Christians is outlined in scripture. We are called children of the highest king of the universe. We know our identity when we come into God’s family. Think of the attention given to royal and presidential families. Take a look at the children. They either disgrace the family or they bless the family.

When we identify with our royal heritage as God’s children, we are born with our identity. We will also know our purpose. It is to identify with our royal heritage and represent our Father where ever we find ourselves.

Purpose, as a Christian, is to glorify God. We are to bless God in all we do or say. We think little about blessing God. Or that our behavior would bless him because we are, most of the time, asking God to bless us. But we are God’s representative on earth. Much like a royal family sends its family members to places to bring good will, we are God’s children and sent to represent God’s name on the earth. This is how we bless God.

Love is the message we bring from the king. It is the way we represent our royal family. This is the highest calling of a Christian life. The description of Christian love is in 1 Corinthians 13. It is one of the most read and quoted parts of the Bible, but one of the hardest to fulfill. But that is our goal.

Identity, purpose, and love have counterfeits. They masquerade in a world-view. But the truth test is: Who does your identity and purpose bring attention to? Who is the focus? God or self? When attempting to understand our identity, purpose, and offer love, who gets the glory?

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. Col. 3: 1–2 NKJV.