This year I will be 45, truly middle-aged. Ouch! That hurts to actually write down. Do I feel middle-aged? No, I feel like I’m 25. I truly forget that I am older, which has lead to somewhat of an identity crisis. I think the identity crisis of middle age is what leads people into a true crisis. Luckily, as a Christian, I have a true identity in Christ that has nothing to do with age, how much I weigh, how much money I make, or what the world thinks I should be. Over this next year, I am going to explore all the things that make up my identity in Christ.
My identity in Christ says that I am loved. No matter what people may say, we all want to be loved. Thankfully God loves us. God loves everyone, whether they are Christian are not. We truly come to understand the depth of God’s love once we become Christians. Romans 5:8 tells us that, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
God’s love for us takes many forms throughout the entire Bible. In 1 John 4:8, it even refers to God Himself as love. God in his purest form is love. It is hard for us to understand love in terms of just purity. God loves you simply because he loves you. We aren’t required to work for His affection. We don’t have to get ourselves all put together before God will pour out His love over us. God, simply put, is love.
It is no joke that this world is hard. It is tough to feel love and to truly believe you are loved just for being yourself. But believing that we are loved by God can keep our heads above water in this world full of doubt and disappointments. By staying fully in God’s love, we learn how to navigate and balance our life. Jude 1:21 tells us — “Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you eternal life.”
Romans 5:3-5 encourages us to keep going even when things are hard, even when we may not feel loved, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts. “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”
One of the most beautiful parts about being in Christ is knowing that no matter what this world, what Satan, may throw at us, nothing will keep God’s love away from us. Once you take on Christ and become a Christian you are completely protected by God’s love. This does not mean that once we are a Christian it is all smooth sailing, just the opposite. The devil wants nothing more than to try to convince us that we are not loved and that we should search for love in anything but Christ. Romans 8:37-39 tells us that nothing can separate us from God’s love, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height or depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
My identity in Christ tells me I am loved. I am excited to explore all of the ways God describes me as a Christian. I hope through my articles this year you will be reminded of just how much God loves and cares for us. The year 2024 was by far the hardest year of my life. Losing my brother and battling my health has made me truly question who I am and what my identity is. I know that this study is going to help me stand firm in what I know to be true: In Christ, I am loved.
This week’s recipe is a delicious warm salad that is packed full of veggies and sure to help you feel warm and cozy, even when it is cold and chilly outside. This recipe doesn’t contain any meat, but pairs extremely well with chicken or salmon.
“’Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,’ says the Lord, who has compassion on you.” Isaiah 54:10
January 3, 2025
