The past few weeks I’ve been drilling down on the the truth about our identity in Christ. I’ve hallmarked that so many children of God live in such a way that demonstrates an insecurity about who they are In Him. To be insecure simply means that you’re unsure of, or not confident in something, or someone; it could be defined as not being firmly fastened, or fixed.
Today however I want to take time to shift our focus to the characteristics of what it looks like when we walk, not insecurely, but rather, in security.
“What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it – we’re called children of God! That’s who we really are, children of god. And that’s only the beginning. Who knows how we’ll end up! What we know is that when Christ is openly revealed, we’ll see him – and in seeing him, we’ll become like him.” 1 John 3:2 (MSG)
The power of John’s declaration is that we already are His children, we are not becoming, or earning our way to become, we ARE! Can I tell you that your life will change drastically when you walk in the security of knowing that you’ve been adopted into His family! What a beautiful way to live!
Paul demonstrates living with this security as he begins his letter to the Ephesian church:
“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God…” Ephesians 1:1 (NIV)
In this statement we can identify four distinctions of what it looks like to walk in security:
- When I walk in security I know who I am.
- When I walk in security I know what I am here to do.
- When I walk in security I know who I do it for.
- When I walk in security I know who qualifies me
Paul doesn’t begin with, “well it’s just me Paul, well actually, I used to be Saul…but maybe you can see me as Paul?”. No! He says, it’s me Paul. Paul is essentially saying, “Listen, I am well aware of who I used to be, but after Jesus was revealed to me, I now know who I am!”
People who walk in the security of knowing who they are never feel the need to prove themselves and they never pull others down to build themselves up. They stand boldly and are neither boastful nor bashful about who they are.
Paul goes on to say, “…an apostle”. Paul knew exactly what his assignment was. Surely he had human ambitions and desires, but the identity he received from Jesus gave him the security to accept and walk in his assignment, and boy was he blessed to do it! What has God called you to do? Are you pursuing success in a specific arena because you know God called you there to bless you so that you could bless others?
One of the most tragic things I see is when people desire success so that they can please all the wrong people, for all the wrong reasons. Here is a saying I’m certain you’ve heard, “stay in your lane”. What that means is that if you run your race in your lane two things will happen. First, if you stay in your lane you won’t be disqualified. Secondly, if you stay in your lane and run your race, eventually you’ll arrive at your finish line. Remember the race is given to the one who endures to the end! If you ever get discouraged, or begin to feel insecure, remind yourself “If I don’t quit, I win!”
“An apostle of Jesus”, it’s such a powerful thing to know what you do and who you do it for. When you have this combination, even the most tedious, menial things become so significant. People who walk in security recognize that we live for Jesus and no one else. Having this security makes it so easy to do the hard things like, love the unlovable and forgive the unforgivable. We are able to do this because it’s our response to how Jesus has loved us when we were unlovable and forgave us when we were unforgivable.
“…by the will of God.”, what a freedom to live knowing that God, not man, qualifies you. Your success has already been qualified by Jesus, so you do not need to be validated by man. When you walk in the security of knowing that your qualification comes from God, you live free from the intimidation of the talents and success of others. Rather than being intimidated by successful and talented people, you walk in security, and you are able to be inspired by the success and talents of others. Don’t make the mistake of trying to qualify yourself based on what others have; rather, walk in the security of your identity in Him and focus on developing the talents, abilities and resources that God gave you!
As you navigate the rest of your week, I want to encourage you to focus on discovering and celebrating your identity in Christ. In Him we live, move and have our being! In Him we know who we are, what we do and discover that He’s given us all the approval we’ll ever need! When we walk in that identity, we truly walk in security!
Live extraordinarily!
Jared
