Identity 3

I’ve been having a lot of conversations recently regarding identity and I think it is of such major significance to us as the body of Christ that I’m not even sure where to start…

But for a starting point here are a few thoughts for now.

1. We must not look to the institution or our function for our identity, within the “church” or outside of it, when we do we elevate the institution to the place of an idol, we must know Gods voice and his approval, (which by the way cannot be earned but is received).

2. We must know ourselves and our weaknesses especially the need for significance and approval – these often get in the way of us walking in obedience to the Lord, we please people before we please God and often that leads to consequences that are unhelpful.

3. Those in leadership must not exploit peoples need to belong for the sake of the organisation or institution – but the power of the institutionoften overpowers us because of point number 1

4. Though we should enjoy our gifting, we must not be defined by it.

5. When we know who we are in Christ we do not have to fear empire or control, but that is not always received well by those around us.

6. It’s all about who we are not what we do, and we must follow Jesus’ example of this.

7. It will come at a cost, and are we prepared to count that cost?

I’m currently working on some of these thoughts in more depth, but it’s such a huge area, I hope to expand on more of this over the next few weeks, (well at least after the holidays anyway), it would be good to get some feedback on this topic too, so feel free to comment, but for now, happy Christmas and maybe we’ll meet up on New years day as we gather to pray for the nation at 1pm in parliament square – London.

Jx