Regaining our identity as God's Image bearers

Paramount in what was lost at the fall, is the sense (but not the reality), of who we are as image bearers of God (Genesis 1:26).  In fact, the spirit of the age is the orphan spirit, the spirit of not belonging. When we don't know who we are as God's beloved, precious children (1 John 3:1), we are very likely to act out, seeking affirmation and approval wherever we can. We may try to find our identity in our achievements, in our careers, or in what we do. But it's never enough, and we end up feeling empty! We are human beings, not human doings. The first step in coming out of a destructive orphan spirit, is to receive His unconditional acceptance in salvation. When we are saved, the truth is that we are His precious, beloved and valued children (John 1:12; 1 John 3:1).

But for many reasons, the distance between the reality of this truth and our feelings, can be very great. We may still be trying to find our identity in stuff, but “life does not consist in the abundance of things” (Luke 12:15). For the longest time after salvation, I was a Christian workaholic, essentially trying to fill the emptiness through service. When we don't know who we are in Christ, we may try and medicate our feelings of inadequacy and insecurity by substance abuse, or in many other ways. We may become perfectionists, unconsciously trying to earn our salvation. Even as Christians we are  not immune to such substitutes for truth!

At one level or another we are all wounded by life. And too often a lie gets attached to the the wound. If we are rejected, we may believe we are unlovable, and not worthy of love. Many of us are wounded in childhood, and because of this we may have a twisted view of Father God. We can get God confused with our earthly father. It seems to be a widespread belief that Jesus is okay, Holy Spirit is okay, but you've got to watch out for Father God!  He's out to get you, just waiting for you to mess up, so He can condemn you! But nothing could be further from the truth! If we want to know what the Father God is like, we just need to look at Jesus. In fact He tells us “He who has seen Me, has seen the Father” (John 14:9).

We cannot earn salvation, and God's love for us is unconditional, but as a loving Father He will discipline us. We don't have to like it, but actually His discipline is evidence of our being sons and daughters (Hebrews 12:5-8). His aim is to teach us to walk in the Spirit, and to put to death the deeds and the desires of our inherited fallen nature. When we do this is, it enables us to received (and feel) the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, 'Abba, Father' (Romans 8:12-15).

Father,  Abba, Daddy,  I am Your child. Your Word tells me I am, and I choose to believe it. When I doubt, I need to keep coming back to what You say, and You are not a man that You should lie (Numbers 29:13). And so many times Lord, I need keep telling myself the truth until I fully believe it, and then to tell myself because I believe it.  Help me Lord to live out of the reality of my identity as Your precious and valued child in Jesus Name Amen