Who You Are in Christ 

By Isaiah Stevenson

“Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”—Galatians 1:10

As Christians, it can be hard to recognize that our identity is in Christ alone, and not in things found in the world—our race, our gender, our activities, our looks, our failures, our past traumas, or even our family. There are so many distractions that get in the way and try to sway us in the wrong direction, and sadly, we often end up falling for it and putting our identity and worth in the wrong things. And when I say wrong, I don’t mean that these things are necessarily morally wrong (although they can be), I mean that these things are not what we should be putting our identity and worth in. 

The truth is that the world doesn’t view our worth the same way God does. How do we know this? John 1:12 tells us, “Yet to all those who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become Children of God.” You see that? God views us as His valuable, precious children whom He watches over constantly. And when we put our identity and worth in other things aside from Him and who He says we are, we’re lowering our standards, as God’s love can never compare to the love of the world. Not only that, but we’re also settling for less than what God has for us, and often believing lies about ourselves and carrying burdens and shame we were never meant to.

Think about this: The literal Creator of the universe, God almighty, already approves of us! He loves us even before we receive Him, even before we give our lives to Him, even before we ask for forgiveness for our sins. He loves us while we are still trapped in our sins. He loves us before we love Him, so why should we seek approval from anywhere else that can never compare to God? 

Galatians 2:20 says “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” The day we give our lives to Christ is the day that our life, our old way of thinking, our old identity, our old heart that was dominated by sin and selfishness is crucified with Him. It's the same day that we no longer pattern our lives to copy to the ways of this world . . . It's the day we’re set free from the shackles of sin. And because of this, our worth is now found fully and only in God and His faithfulness. 

The difference between God and the world is that the world constantly lets us down, while God constantly lifts us up. The world constantly takes from us, while God is the giver of everything that is good and perfect (James 1:17). The world constantly leads us down the wrong paths in life, while God leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4), truth (John 16:13), righteousness (Psalm 23:3), and triumph and victory (2 Corinthians 2:14, Romans 8:37). 

So as you begin the school year, whether you’re homeschooled, go to a public school, charter school, magnet school, private school, or Christian school, I pray that you won’t let the things of this world define your worth, because your worth is found in the fact that you are made in the image of God, that Jesus gave His life for you, and that when you receive Him, you are adopted into the family of God and become a heir in His kingdom! God’s promise is a daily reminder of how valuable His children are to Him. Personally, I’m often encouraged by this quote from Nicky Gumbel that says, “Don’t undervalue yourself. God loves you. Your worth is what you are worth to God. Jesus died for you. You are of infinite value.” 

When we start seeing our value the way God sees it, we will be way more satisfied with life and ourselves, because His approval is greater than the approval of others. I'm going to leave you with five words: Let God define your worth!