Galatians 4:21. Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law?
The second way that we “listen to the law” is by creating our own identity: “I’m the funny one.” “I’m the smart one.” “I’m the cool parent.” “I’m the pastor.” “I’m a good Christian.” Or in Galatia, “I’m a good, covenant-keeping Jew.”
The idea that we must create our own identity is ingrained deeply into the American way of life. We Westerners are identified, valued, and justified by what we do and by how well we do it. Who we are is determined by our actions, not our intrinsic worth as an image-bearer of God. And once we declare our identities, the pressure to perform becomes not only internal but external as well. The problem with creating our own identities is that we must maintain them through greater and greater performance.
I remember in fourth grade, I was the “funny one” in my class. But then, in fifth grade, Drew Nelson came to my school, and he was funnier than me. Plus, he was from Georgia, so he had an accent that made everything he said sound even funnier. It was terrible. Maintaining our identities leads to intense pressure.
What happens when my “authentic self-identity” that I created for myself is suddenly not so true? Do I create my next true identity? Or do I double down and try harder to be what I’ve decided that I am, living unauthentically up to my “true identity”? My head hurts just thinking about it.
Here too, as with living from cause and effect, the indwelling life of Christ is ignored or even denied. This is a life of works, not faith. And frankly, it’s a life of exhaustion. Constantly having to create and recreate my own identity is too much for any of us to bear.
We simply weren’t meant to create our own identity. We were meant to be told who we are by God. He names us; we don’t name ourselves. This is freedom—God names us “son.” That is our eternal identity—child of God. It doesn’t rise and fall with our performance. It doesn’t come and go with our obedience. It is an identity secured for us by Jesus himself, one we don’t have to create or keep. It is a name written on our foreheads forever.
You: What identities have you made for yourself that you live and die by?
You in Christ: Why is union with Christ a much better identity than any that you might create for yourself?
Christ in you: How does trusting your sonship in Christ free you from performance-driven Christianity?
Pray: Father, I want to trust who you say I am, not any identity I create for myself. Give me grace today to simply live by faith in who I am in Jesus. Amen.
