Who are you?

This used to be a simple question.

But “identity” has become such a complex flashpoint in our culture that this once seemingly innocuous question has now become much more loaded.

Who are you?

Culture will try to give us many answers to this question. You are your name, your age, your social status, your job, your family situation, your sexual preference. It will try to get us to define ourselves in terms of our feelings, our medical conditions, our strengths and weaknesses. It will spell out our identity based on what we have or what we don’t, the way we vote, and what we believe about certain issues.

And, can I be honest? It. is. EXHAUSTING.

Because, based on culture’s constantly-shifting standards, I can never be sure which identity is “right.” I can believe an identity based on one of these qualifiers is good one day only to be told it’s bad the next. What I’ve come to accept as an integral part of who I am can suddenly be something the world demands I change. Is it any wonder rates of depression and anxiety have skyrocketed over the past few years? Finding our identity in the world’s fluid measurements leads to nothing but doubt, insecurity, and confusion.

But there is a better way.

One of my favorite passages in Scripture comes in the book of Matthew 3, when Jesus comes to John on the banks of the Jordan River, asking to be baptized. Although John at first refuses, saying “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you come to me?” (verse 14, emphasis mine), eventually he relents. We pick up in verse 16:

“When Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water. The heavens opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him. And a voice from heaven said: ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased'” (verses 16-17).

Keep in mind, this episode occurs before Jesus begins His earthly ministry. He hasn’t begun preaching, teaching, or healing. He is still years away from His ultimate work on the cross. And yet, in this moment, Jesus is reminded in a meaningful way about His true identity. About who He really is.

He is beloved.

He is not where He was born. He is not His job. He is not His social class, the amount of money in His pocket, or the clothes on His back. And He is certainly not the sum of His feelings.

He is the beloved Son of God.

Because Jesus understood this deeply, others’ opinions of Him didn’t matter so much. Security in God’s unchanging love for Him allowed Him to boldly step out into His earthly duty and fulfill God’s purpose for Him on earth. He never had to sway from side to side, trying to change His identity to meet the expectations of the world around Him. He was who He was, comfortable and confident because of His trust in His Father.

And, did you know that when you put your faith in Jesus, YOU become a beloved son or daughter of God, too?

John 1:12 says “But to all who did receive him [Jesus], he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name…“

Paul says it like this in Romans 8: “For all those led by God’s spirit are God’s sons…you received a spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out ‘Abba, Father!’ The Spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children…” (Romans 8:14-16).

And just in case you didn’t get it, he writes again in Galatians 3:26: “…for through faith you are all sons of God in Christ Jesus.”

Friend, please don’t miss this point: YOU ARE GOD’S BELOVED CHILD.

And this is an identity that will not change because it is not an identity based on your job, your economic position, or your social clout. It isn’t based on whether you are single, married, widowed, or divorced. It isn’t based on what you do or how you feel each day.

It is based on who are you IN CHRIST JESUS.

Jesus HIMSELF has already given you your identity. So you don’t need to look to the world–or anything in it–to define you. And, unlike the world’s constant fluctuation, Jesus’s opinion of you WILL NEVER CHANGE.

You are His BELOVED.

Friends, I pray today that you live from a place of that knowledge, understanding at your deepest level just how very much you are loved by the One who gave you breath. Let His opinions and standards be the only benchmark you set for your life. Because, truly, in the end, they are the only ones that will ever matter.