How Is Your Identity Guiding Your Family?

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” (Galatians 5:1, NIV).

When you know your identity as a son or daughter of God, your worth as a person no longer rises and falls on being a stay-at-home parent, mompreneur, CEO, musician, service member, speaker, laborer, podcaster, or whatever roles you might hold. Instead, you are free. No longer enslaved to an earthly title, but a heavenly one.

You now live from love, not for love. You can show up for your family, not just with your family. Living from love as a child of God makes knowing who your family is, and what God calls you to as a family, so much easier. Because you no longer have anything to prove, you are now set free to make Jesus more famous to the world.

Our job on earth is to bring God glory in how we lead our family, love others, and make choices—both big and small, seen and unseen. And when we do that, we too can leave legacy upon legacy to our children and our children’s children. Not because of anything flashy we do, but because our kids learn that God is a living, breathing heavenly Father whose love for us changes how we show up for others.

God is looking for humble hearts who will lay down their lives to realize his kingdom on earth a little more day by day, regardless of the cost or how hidden our contribution might be. That’s what it means to know who your family is—to identify the ways in which you can partner with God to advance the kingdom. For my aunt and uncle, that meant serving as missionaries in a remote Brazilian village. For Josh and me, that means bringing a renewed sense of connection, adventure, and purpose to families. For you, that means discovering the heartbeat and identity of your family and then living it out.

As you discover more about who are and who your family is, it might require making some changes in your lifestyle, job, schooling for your kids, or even where you live. But don’t be afraid of reprioritizing your roles or even what God might call you to do as a family. Though change can feel scary in the moment, imagine what God can do through your family on the other side of your faith. As Dale Mast writes, “Faith believes what God can do. Identity believes what God can do through you.” [i] Let your faith guide you. Let your identity guide your family. You are free.

[i] Dale L. Mast, And David Perceived He Was King (Maitland, FL: Xulon Press, 2015), xxiii.