Where is your personal identity found?

 

Identity is a tricky thing. Who am I, really? What gives me ultimate worth? Where do I find acceptance and a sense of purpose?

Those are profound questions. 

If our identity is anywhere else than who we are in Christ, we forget that everything else in life is ultimately temporary. Only He is permanent. Furthermore, only He can ultimately satisfy the deepest cravings and needs of the human heart because, in the end, we were made for Him.

Consider:
If my identity is found in my job or my role, when that role disappears, so does my identity.

If my identity is found in success, not only will I be driven to succeed, but I will drive others as well - and the goal line keeps changing, so there is no crossing the goal. What is success? Today's definition is not tomorrow's definition. Once achieved, there is always another goal line. To be defined by "success" is to live a driven life!

If my identity is found in power, I will likely misuse that power and move deeper into hubris, hurting myself and everyone around me. Often, power is about achieving our goals at the expense of others. And when my power evaporates, so does my identity. 

If my identity is in things, they eventually all go away. We leave the world as naked as when we arrived. And like success, the goal lines on wealth keep changing. The more we have, the more we think we need. 

If my identity is in fame, when my 15 minutes are over, so is my self-worth. And then what?

Those individuals who are most grounded, most comfortable in their own skin, most healthy and most at peace have found their true identity in the one place where our truest identity is found. Jesus. They have focused their lives on Him first and understand that anything that can be taken away, lost, or is temporary is a poor source of personal identity. 

When we chase identity in the wrong places, we don't have time for the most important things in life: relationships, family, personal growth, service to others, rest, and spiritual development. Furthermore, joy cannot be found in things that we chase but rather in the identity that we have. 

What is the true ground of your identity? 

The source of a leader's identity directly impacts their leadership

Identity is a tricky thing. Who am I really? What gives me ultimate worth? Where do I find acceptance and a sense of purpose?

Those are profound questions for us. Let's assume for a moment that as the leader of a mission organization and a Senior Vice President in a denomination that my identity is a product of those responsibilities and titles. If that were to go away, who would I be? And if that is "who I am" what about the other parts of my life that have nothing to do with my job? Who am I there? 

In no way am I diminishing the part that calling and passion play in "who are are" and "who we become." But, if our identity is anywhere else than in who we are in Christ we have a problem. Everything else in life is ultimately temporary. Only He is permanent. Furthermore, only He can ultimately satisfy the deepest cravings and needs of the human heart because in the end we were made for Him.

Consider:
If my identity is found in my role, when that role disappears so does my identity.

If my identity is found in success, not only will I be driven to succeed but will drive others as well - and the goal line keeps changing so there is no crossing the goal.

If my identity is found in power, I will misuse that power and move deeper into hubris, hurting myself and everyone around me.

If my identity is in things, they eventually all go away. We leave the world as naked as when we arrived. 

If my identity is in fame, when my 15 minutes is over, so is my self worth. And then what?

Those leaders who are most grounded, most comfortable in their own skin, most healthy and most unflappable are those who have finally found their true identity in the one place where our truest identity is found. Jesus. They have focused their lives on Him first and understand the truths of Ephesians 1 and 2 relative to our position in Christ. They have found a profound settledness in Him.

What is the true ground of your identity? 

Posted from San Diego

All of T.J. Addington's books including his latest, Deep Influence,  are available from the author for the lowest prices and a $2.00 per book discount on orders of ten or more.

The most important issue for each of us: God's agenda for our lives

It is an amazing thing that God has designed a role in this life just for us - a role that we are uniquely wired and gifted to fill. A role that contributes directly to what He is doing in our world as part of His meta plan to redeem His broken creatures. It is exhilarating to be at the center of His purposes for our lives and to maximize the opportunity He has given us. Our responsibility is to figure out how to maximize that opportunity He has graciously given.

Central to living out our destiny is a very simple concept: We need to follow God's agenda for our lives! Many people have agendas for us but discerning His agenda and sticking too it is one of the most critical decisions we could ever make. At my stage of life, I know what God has not called me to do and I am fairly clear on what He has called me to do. Thus saying no to the former and yes to the latter is one of my disciplines.

The ability to make those decisions means that we are willing to disappoint some who would tug us in different directions. Ultimately, however, we have an audience of One to whom we will answer for our life stewardship and He is the One who counts. Following Jesus has always been counter cultural and to others our decisions may not always make sense. 

Remember this: Our world has an agenda, our friends have an agenda, our family has an agenda, our church has an agenda and our work has an agenda. There are pieces of those agendas we must pay attention to and negotiate but ultimately the One agenda that truly matters is that of Jesus Christ and He has a definite agenda for our lives (Ephesians 2:10-11) that goes back to long before we were born as to how we would fit into His work and His plan and His meta story.

Perhaps the most important question we could ask Him on an ongoing basis is this: Jesus what is your agenda for me today? He might just surprise you with a response. 

Our real identity

Our identity is a complicated puzzle made up of many factors. For instance, I grew up in Asia so I am defined as a "third world kid." I feel most at home there but my home is here. Add to that the family each of us grew up in, our experiences through life, the education we received, the job we have and our station in life. No one of these is sufficient for identity but together they profoundly impact who we believe we are.

Now, I believe that God uses all of our history to craft who we are in the present and he uses the present to craft who we will be in the future. But at its core, our identity is all about who God created us to be in relationship with him rather than the external factors that we often falsely believe are our core identity.

For many men, their job defines their identity. What happens if the job goes away and I am unemployed? Did my core identity change? If my 25 year old son who is a strapping outdoors man were to suffer an accident that left him as a paraplegic did his identity change?

External factors in our lives are certainly important in shaping who we become when we allow the Holy Spirit to grow us. But our core identity is found in our son ship and daughter ship of the King of Kings. In the end we are more defined by our relationship with God than our jobs, our position or life experiences. All of those may be wonderful and may have had a part in forming us but many of these can go away. Our life "in Christ" can and will never be taken away. It is the core of our identity for all eternity.

Believing that and living it out changes everything.

Everyone who finds their purpose in life is a genius

The quote is not original - it came from a twenty something Christian leader in Berlin but it certainly caught my attention. Jesus created every one of us for a unique purpose and wired and gifted us so that we could achieve that purpose (Ephesians 2:10). When we discover our the lane God made us for we live with great purpose and satisfaction. When not, we miss the joy!

If God made us for a purpose it makes sense that we would be intentional in discerning what that is. In my book, Live Like You Mean it, I suggest that we need to ask ten crucial questions about our life. The first one is "Why am I here?" It is a question worth pondering because life is not random and God is not random. Therefore we ought not live random lives. God has a unique and wonderful purpose for our life that when discovered gives us great joy and satisfaction.

The good news is that while everyone who finds their purpose in life may be a genius, you don't have to be a genius to discover it.

Ask the question, where do I find the greatest joy? What fills me up when I do it? What do others tell me I am really good at? What does a really good day look like for me? Where do I contribute the best to what God is up to? What do I wish I could do that I am not? In addition, simply ask God for insight into what He made you for. He is the creator and He knows and He wants us to be in our lane for our sake and His.

God created me to teach, preach, write and lead and help build his church globally. When I am in those lanes I am fulfilled. When I get out of those lanes I am pretty ineffective. I am no genius but I understand why God made me. Why did he make you? Are you running in the right lane or trying to be something you are not?