IDENTITY

Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” And they answered, “John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.” Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”

Luke 9:18-20

While Jesus the Messiah walked the face of the earth in the flesh, he touched the hearts of thousands of people, yet not everyone understood who he truly was. It took the Spirit of the Creator to reveal his true identity to his closest followers (Matt.16:17). Never once did Jesus doubt his own true identity. Much like most of us, however, the disciples were ordinary people just trying to survive in a busy and demanding world. It appears from Scripture that they identified themselves by their various professions (fishermen/tax collector) and some were identified by their town of origin (Mary of Magdeline). We see that Jesus too was identified by others by his hometown (Jesus of Nazareth).

This may seem painfully obvious, but when the disciples began to follow Jesus, their identity changed in the eyes of the world. They were no longer identified by their professions but had become disciples of Jesus. I would like to say that this were true today. Perhaps we can change this?

We live in a very strange age, where some people seem to be very confused about who and even what they are. Sadly, there are a few who are living through a serious identity crisis. One like the world has never seen outside of psychiatric hospitals. What makes this such a travesty is that those who love these individuals are told that they cannot help the confused family member through the normal means of discovery. Loved ones are only given the option to go along with the fantasy and imagination of the one who is suffering and locked in this state of confusion.

The entire delusion puts the whole family in bondage as they all live through a psychological hell on earth. Everyone suffers. Christians should be asking; why has this become so mainstream? These people are obviously hurting. No one wants to see their beautiful child have themselves mutilated or castrated. No one wants to see their child tormented psychologically. No one should want to have their child or loved one lied to. If Jesus died on the cross to redeem humanity and place everything under his control and take it away from the devil’s control, then why is the world in a state of mass confusion?

Let’s begin with asking where confusion stems from. The basis for confusion can be found in lies. The father of lies is Satan who rules over the hearts and minds of many who have not found their true identity in God’s Christ (John 8:44). Peter warns us that the devil prowls around like a lion seeking someone to devour (1Pet. 5:8). How do you think that happens? Much like a lion, the devil seeks out the weakest link. Someone who has already been abused or hurt, and finds themselves confused as to why they were injured or compromised is highly vulnerable. Then the lies of the enemy begin to sink into the mind of the compromised and the psychological destruction begins.

Christians should be the first to recognize what is happening in our world today. Many are taking a stand, but even more are sitting back and doing nothing. They become willfully blind and believe that this will never happen to them or their family. They choose not to get involved while children and young people fall easy prey to demonic influence. This is shameful.

Earlier I asked the question; why is the world in such a confused state if Jesus died on the cross to take back territory from the enemy (Matt. 28:18)? Some of Jesus’ last instructions to his disciples was to make disciples of everyone around them wherever they found themselves. Christianity is not a spectator sport. We are responsible for taking the message to the world. Whether it is a school board meeting, a city council meeting, or a family gathering of skeptics, atheists, or lukewarm confused professing Christians. Many Christians are not speaking up, out of fear which shows a lack of trust in God.

We are all called to participate, no exceptions. It is time that we all access how we made a difference in the world around us, outside of our comfortable and safe environment of family and friends this past year. I call on all of us to put our minds to doing better in the coming year. The world desperately needs to hear the message of God’s Christ. How will you fight for changes in your community to protect our children this coming year?

Christians are given the power of God to live inside of them, we should not live in fear of the enemy. It's time to decide what is our true Identity as we stand before the face of God and act in accordance.