Theological Commentary: Click Here
Discipleship Focus: Identity
- Identity: Our true identity comes from the Father. Only when our identity comes from God can we be obedient in ways that satisfy our person to our core.
Luke 18 is a great chapter through which we can see the lens of
identity. Let’s take a look at the Pharisee
and the tax collector. The Pharisee
prays about how great he is and how glad he is not like the people who are
worse than him. His identity is in his
own perception of his greatness. The tax
collector, however, prays in a humble manner that acknowledges his
failings. His identity is true. He doesn’t see himself as he wants to see
himself; rather, he sees himself as God sees him. His identity is in the Father.
Or, take the rich man and Peter.
The rich man comes to Jesus thinking that he’s done everything
perfectly. The rich man sees himself as
an obedient follower of the law. But he
is only looking externally at his own works – and even in that he is certainly
having a biased opinion. Jesus tells the
rich young man to give up his wealth and we get a glimpse of the truth: his
identity is his wealth. Peter, on the
other hand, reminds Jesus that he has given up everything for Jesus. His identity is not on the stuff of this
world. Peter’s identity is rooted in his
relationship with the Father. For the
record, Peter also shows us what it is like to live out of that identity into obedience.
We can live for just about anything. We can live for material goods. We can live for fame. We can live for the praise of other people. We can live for power. Or we can live for God, getting our identity
from Him, and living out of that identity as best as possible.
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