Who Christ Says I Am

One of the deepest questions of the human heart is, “Who am I?” We often answer that question by looking at our accomplishments, our relationships, our appearance, our failures, or the opinions of others. We allow our identity to be built upon things that can change overnight.

When people praise us, we feel valuable. When they criticize us, we begin to question ourselves. When we succeed, we feel secure. When we fail, we wonder whether our life still has meaning. But anything that can be given to us by this world can also be taken away by this world.

The world generally offers two ways of finding identity. One says, “Other people will tell me who I am.” The other says, “I will decide for myself who I am.” Yet the gospel gives us something far better: Jesus Christ tells us who we are. Our identity does not have to be achieved, invented, or defended. It is received through our relationship with Him. 

The Bible says that we are God’s workmanship. That means we are not accidents, mistakes, or forgotten pieces of His creation. God knew us before anyone formed an opinion about us. He saw our weaknesses, understood our struggles, and knew every failure we would ever experience. Yet He still loved us and sent His Son to redeem us.

When we receive Christ as our Saviour, our past no longer has the authority to define us. We may have sinned, but in Christ we are forgiven. We may have been rejected, but in Christ we are accepted. We may feel alone, but in Christ we have been adopted into the family of God. We may feel broken, but we remain the workmanship of a God who is still shaping our lives.

Our identity in Christ is not based upon how well we performed today. Certainly, we should desire to please the Lord and walk in obedience, but we do not obey so that God will love us. We obey because He already does. We do not serve to earn our place in His family. We serve because, through Christ, we have been brought into His family by grace.

The enemy would love to keep us looking backward. He reminds us of what we did, what happened to us, what someone said about us, and all the ways we have fallen short. But when the accusations come, we must answer them with the truth of God’s Word. Our identity is not found in our worst moment. It is found in the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Even our accomplishments cannot be allowed to define us. Ministries change. Careers end. Children grow up. Health can weaken. Recognition fades. But Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. When our identity rests in Him, we possess something the changing circumstances of life cannot steal.

Perhaps you have been carrying a label that God never gave you. Someone called you a failure. Someone made you feel unwanted. Perhaps your own heart has been condemning you for years. Bring those voices beneath the authority of Scripture. Other people do not have the final word concerning your life. Your past does not have the final word. Your emotions do not have the final word. Jesus does.

You belong to Christ. You have been purchased by His blood, saved by His grace, and made part of His eternal purpose. You are His workmanship. You may still be growing, healing, and learning, but the hands that began the work have not abandoned it.

We do not discover our true identity by staring endlessly at ourselves. We discover it by looking unto Jesus. The closer we walk with Him, the less power the labels of this world will have over us. Our confidence is not that we have made ourselves worthy. Our confidence is that Christ has made us His.