Can I see your ID?

"Many of my daily preoccupations suggest that I belong more to the world than to God. A little criticism makes me angry, and a little rejection makes me depressed. A little praise raises my spirits, and a little success excites me. It takes very little to raise me up or thrust me down. Often I am like a small boat on the ocean, completely at the mercy of its waves. All the time and energy I spend in keeping some kind of balance and preventing myself from being tipped over and drowning shows that my life is mostly a struggle for survival: not a holy struggle, but an anxious struggle resulting from the mistaken idea that it is the world that defines me."

(Henri Nouwen, The Return of the Prodigal Son, pg. 42)

So often, I can identify with Henri's description of emotions and reactions.  It seems, at times, like we are at the mercy of the waves of our circumstances.  However, we fail to realize that, like Henri pointed out, the temporary world that we live in does not define who we are.  Life should not be an anxious struggle, but it certainly is when we are deceived by Satan's foundational lies.  

So, how do we escape from this lifestyle and grasp the peace and grace that God is offering us?  In order to displace Satan's lie with the truth that we are a peculiar people, called out of this world by Christ (1 Peter 2:9-10), we must take every thought captive (2 Cor. 10:5) and make our emotions and actions obedient to the Lord as much as we know we ought.  We must turn from the idea that we are identified by this world, and embrace the reality that we, as Christians, are granted the ability to lay up our treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19).  This passage (along with Prov. 4:23) is key to recognizing the importance of how others perceive your identity, because it warns us that where our hearts are, our treasures will be also.  

This means that the condition of your heart produces the thoughts, emotions, and actions that others see.  G. Leibholz said that "responsible [true] love must be manifested."  As we all know, we spend time with, think about, talk about, and do things for the people (or things) that we love.   We openly associate ourselves with the things and people that we love.  When you love something, it's likely that the people who know you will identify you with that object or person, because they associate the two of you to one another also.

Is that the way your relationship with Christ is?  Are you close enough to Him that others hear you speak of Him?  Do they see you doing things to serve Him?  Are they able to notice that you spend time with Him; can they see that He has changed your countenance (Exodus 34:30-37)?  It has been said that your tongue is the window to your heart.  When you give others a peek inside, who or what do they see in you?

Emotional instability, rudeness, impatience, pride, inconsideration, mean speech, and entitlement are only outward symptoms.  In order to change, the problem that causes the symptoms must be fixed, and that is the condition of your heart.  If you have tasted the Lord's goodness, you will have the desire to put away these things (1 Peter 2:1-3), and have His power to do so.  Turn to the Heavenly Father and ask Him to show you your sin, and to  give you His humility and the power, that your life may change.

GE (High School Senior)

Create in me a clean heart, O God, 

and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  

Do not cast me away from your presence, Lord, 

and do not take your Holy Spirit from me.

Psalm 51:10-11