IdentitySample

Main Idea: Counted as Righteous - Part 2

Imagine you end up marrying the girl or guy of your dreams. This person is literally the perfect spouse, never does any wrong against you, always keeps their word, always tells the truth, is always kind, patient, loving, and somehow does it all without ever making you feel inferior to them. But imagine that you, one day, decide that you want to have someone else, so you leave your perfect spouse and go out and cheat on them. And not just once in a moment of weakness, but in a repeated, ongoing, intentional manner, with a whole bunch of people who don’t even get close to the one you had. In this instance, it’s not just about a law you have broken, but a relationship you have broken. This, too is what our relationship with God is like without Jesus. This perfect God, who has never done us wrong, is the one we have turned our back on, going after all the other things we put in His place. But let’s move on to the next story, this one’s about relationships.

Imagine one last time that you have an excellent life with everything you could ever want or need. You have a great house, car, friends, and clothes. But deep down, on the inside, you feel unsatisfied. So, one day, you decide that you’re going to try some Class-A narcotics. After all, you have lots of money, and these are comparatively cheap; you can afford them.

The problem is, they’re addictive. You start going back for more. You find that the bank account looks a bit emptier, so you sell the car to fund the habit. But you need more again. So you sell the house. The idea of joy and peace you were longing for disappears as you crave more and more. Eventually, you have sold everything you have, lost everyone you loved, and still the drugs don’t satisfy.

This is also what we are like without Jesus: broken not just legally and relationally, but internally. We end up ruining our own lives and missing the full, good life God made us for. Deep down, that brokenness points to something even bigger—that we’ve lost our true identity. We were made to find who we are in God, but sin twists and breaks that.

Reflection Questions:

• In what ways have you seen sin affect your relationship with God or with others, like the story of the perfect spouse?
• What do you think it means that only Jesus can “fix” our brokenness and restore our true identity in Him?