Many things have become evident to me since God blessed me to become a father, but one thing has stood out over the years.\u00a0 When Diana and I started having children, she and I were no longer important.\u00a0 Even at family functions, people do not ask about Diana and I.\u00a0 It is generally, how are the kids, where are the kids, etc.\u00a0 I’m not longer Justin, but rather I am now Eli, Noah, Caleb, and Cataleyah’s dad.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 I’m sure my parents went through it, especially when my sister and I were playing ball growing up.\u00a0 All of this got me to thinking, am I defined by my identity?\u00a0 Am I willing to lose my identity in order to follow Christ?<\/p>\n
In Matthew 19 Jesus tells a parable about a rich young man.\u00a0 The man seemed religious enough (never a good thing by the way in Scripture).\u00a0 After all he told Jesus that he kept the commandments from the time he was a young man until now.\u00a0 His question seemed like the right one to ask, “what good deed must I do to have eternal life” (Mt. 19:16)?\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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).\u00a0 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).\u00a0 You see this rich young man’s identity in the world was that he was rich.\u00a0 Back then just as today, money bought you notoriety and power.\u00a0 People valued you based on what you had rather than who you were.\u00a0 Again this is still true today.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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).\u00a0 In order for this to happen we must be willing to surrender our worldly identity.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 While that sounds easy, I would caution us, if it was easy everyone would be doing it.\u00a0 But I can say without any hesitation or reservation that the day I gave it all away, I gained so much more.<\/p>\n
By His grace and through His strength may we live for Him<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Many things have become evident to me since God blessed me to become a father, but one thing has stood out over the years.\u00a0 When Diana and I started having children, she and I were no longer important.\u00a0 Even at … Read More