Through Jesus Christ, your greatest identity is that you are a child of God.
The world is quick to give people labels. Some are based on your past. Some are based on your struggles. Some are based on your failures. Others come from painful words spoken over you years ago. You may have been called broken, addicted, divorced, rejected, anxious, unwanted, too much, not enough, a disappointment, or a failure. After hearing those words long enough, you can begin believing they define who you are. But today I want to remind you of something that can change your life: do not let anyone label you outside of what God calls you. Through Jesus Christ, your greatest identity is that you are a child of God.
The enemy understands the power of identity. If he can confuse you about who you are, he can influence how you live. That is why he works so hard to get you to define yourself by your worst moment instead of by Christ’s finished work. He wants your past to become your name. Jesus came to give you a new one.
God’s love for you is greater than your greatest failure
Long before you ever did anything right or wrong, God desired relationship with you. The cross was not God’s attempt to tolerate you. It was His declaration that He wanted you. Jesus did not stretch out His hands because you had earned His love. He stretched them out because His love for you is greater than your greatest failure.
First John 3:1 says, “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” Notice that Scripture does not say you are trying to become God’s child through your performance. It says you are His child because of His love. Your identity begins with what the Father has done, not with what you have done.
The Greek word “teknon” means a child born into a family, deeply loved and belonging to the household. That is how God sees you. You are not merely someone He tolerates. You belong. You have been welcomed into His family through the finished work of Jesus. That identity is stronger than every label the world could ever place upon you.
Jesus’ death on the cross, offered you God’s gift of forgiveness and a new identity.
Perhaps people still define you by something you did years ago. Maybe every time your name is mentioned, someone remembers your mistakes before they remember your growth. That may be how people see you, but it is not how your Father sees you. God does not introduce you by your failures. He introduces you as His beloved child.
The finished work of Jesus means your identity is no longer rooted in your past but in His victory. You are not the sum of your regrets. You are not your diagnosis. You are not your addiction. You are not your divorce. You are not your fears. You are not the worst thing that ever happened to you. You are in Christ, and that changes everything.
One of the most freeing moments in the Christian life is when you stop introducing yourself by your wounds and begin living from your sonship. You stop asking, “Who does everyone else say I am?” and begin resting in who your Father says you are. His voice becomes louder than every accusation and every opinion.
The Holy Spirit is God’s gift to His children
Galatians 4:6-7 says, “And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.” Think about that. You are not merely forgiven. You have been brought into the family. You have a Father who delights in you and calls you His own.
Choose to believe your identity, given by God, your Heavenly Father
People may misunderstand you. They may misjudge you. They may continue using labels that God has already removed. You cannot always control what others call you, but you can choose whose voice you believe. Let the voice of your Father become the loudest voice in your life.
One day every label this world has placed upon you will disappear. Every false identity will be gone. Every accusation will be silenced. But one truth will remain forever: you belong to Jesus. You are His, and He is yours. That identity will never fade because it was purchased by His blood.
So do not let anyone label you outside of being a child of God. Let the cross define you. Let the empty tomb define you. Let the Father’s love define you. Through the finished work of Jesus Christ, you are chosen, accepted, forgiven, redeemed, and deeply loved. Before you are anything else, you are God’s beloved child. And no opinion, no failure, no circumstance, and no voice on earth can ever take that away.
(From Brian Romero Ministries)
