Identityნიმუში

Main Idea: We Are Fallen

The Bible is also clear that Adam and Eve went against their created identity. They determined that they would not simply accept the created status they had been given, but would try to become their own creators, making themselves into something they thought would be better than God had made them. They were, of course, sadly wrong that they could make themselves better.

They also, like the steward given a beautiful country estate, decided to reject the rule of the king who gave it to them, and rather than maintaining and developing it, started to destroy it. Above all, rather than living for God’s glory and their good, they decided to live for their own glory.

The moment mankind chose to disobey God was the moment that this world stopped being as good as it was supposed to be. While good things still exist, the moment when Adam and Eve chose to try and glorify themselves above God was the moment that death, disease and evil entered this world.

Sadly, you and I are no better. We have all tried to make our own purpose and destiny. We have all rejected God’s rule over our lives. We have all failed to live for the glory of God. But God didn’t leave us that way. Because He loves us, He sent His Son, Jesus, to live the perfect life we couldn’t live and to die for our sins on the cross. When Jesus rose from the dead, He made a way for us to be forgiven and made right with God again. Anyone who trusts in Him can have a new life and a new identity as God’s child.

This is why so many of us struggle with our identity. In ourselves, we can’t be who we were meant to be.

But through Jesus, we can find our true identity and purpose.

Reflection Questions:

• What happens when we try to live for our own glory instead of God’s?
• What does it mean that anyone who trusts in Jesus can have “a new life and a new identity as God’s child”?
• How does this truth show God’s love and grace toward us?