Many things have become evident to me since God blessed me to become a father, but one thing has stood out over the years. When Diana and I started having children, she and I were no longer important. Even at family functions, people do not ask about Diana and I. It is generally, how are the kids, where are the kids, etc. I’m not longer Justin, but rather I am now Eli, Noah, Caleb, and Cataleyah’s dad. Don’t get me wrong, I am not upset about it it is just interesting to see how life changes you and how society views you as you get older and move into different stations in life. I’m sure my parents went through it, especially when my sister and I were playing ball growing up. All of this got me to thinking, am I defined by my identity? Am I willing to lose my identity in order to follow Christ?
In Matthew 19 Jesus tells a parable about a rich young man. The man seemed religious enough (never a good thing by the way in Scripture). After all he told Jesus that he kept the commandments from the time he was a young man until now. His question seemed like the right one to ask, “what good deed must I do to have eternal life” (Mt. 19:16)? Of course the theologian in me and in you point out that this young man’s religion was based on what he could do, not who Christ is and what Christ was going to do. Jesus’ answer seems simple enough, “sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me” (Mt. 19:21). The rich young man’s reaction told the whole story of who he was, “when the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possession” (Mt. 19:22). You see this rich young man’s identity in the world was that he was rich. Back then just as today, money bought you notoriety and power. People valued you based on what you had rather than who you were. Again this is still true today. The truth of the matter is that if we are going to make a difference in the world for Christ, it can’t be about us, who we are, or what we have. It must be about who Christ is, what He has done on the cross, and what He desires to do for all mankind (save them from their sins and eternal judgment). In order for this to happen we must be willing to surrender our worldly identity. We have to be willing to get rid of anything and everything that is keeping us from loving the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind. While that sounds easy, I would caution us, if it was easy everyone would be doing it. But I can say without any hesitation or reservation that the day I gave it all away, I gained so much more.
By His grace and through His strength may we live for Him