"I'm with the Able One." Part 1

Have you ever noticed how many of the things we print on our clothes send a statement of identity? I even think of my own wardrobe, and I have had a bunch of things that send that message. I've had sweatshirts and t-shirts that tell you about what kind of camps I've been to, where I went to church, what kind of ministries I've been involved in, what bands I like, where I've gone to school, and where I've traveled to. All of those are in some way identifying myself with a community. Then, of course there are those those shirts that say "I'm with ______________." (I'll leave it up to you if that blank is nice or sarcastic.) :) 

I just started listening to an "Identity" series of podcast sermons and I'm really excited to continue with them! (If you're interested, hit up Mars Hill podcasts and just look for the Ephesians ones) I've been mentally kicking this idea of identity around since I listened to the first one Monday afternoon. That kinda just collided with a beautiful Characteristic of God in my heart: God's Competence. I think when you're aware of how human you are, how often you fail (and at the same things over and over for crying out loud!), how desperate and imperfect you are, His competence seems like an oasis in a desert. I fail. He doesn't. Does that bless anybody else like it does me? Cause that truth gives me room to breathe again. It feels like I'm coming up from underwater, my lungs burning for air .

I know that in a lot of ways I have struggled (and continue to) with many types of idolatry in my life. I've tried to put people, things, my responsibilities, and future hopes and events in roles that only God should have. There have been times, that I've expected any one of those types of idols give me contentment, security, affirmation, fulfillment, protection, self-worth and plenty of other things that should only come from The Lord. Because The Lord is the Only One who can actually meet my need. Yeah, I know. It's gross. There have been so many times that I've tied my identity and labels tightly to my idols, but then when my idols over-promise and under-deliver (and they always do) it shakes me, and suddenly I have a new label I never wanted. Ironically, a lot of times those labels end up being the opposite of what I want. 

So, as I'm thinking and talking with The Lord about my identity and what He has to say about it, over all I hear him ask me to simply remember who He is and who I am to Him. And there in lies my identity. I'm loved by The Father just as much as Christ is loved by Him. (Hm. I wonder if that truth will ever one day stop feeling like it's about the most scandalous thing I could ever say?! Probably not.) At the foot of the cross, I'm redeemed -so that I can remember where I came from, be humble, and sure His love knows no bounds. In His view, I'm clean - another audacious truth: I'm seen by The Father through the filter of Christ's righteousness. Because of Him, I'm healed, so that I may tell others out The Great Physician. In Christ I'm invited, desired, valued, pursued and I'm approved of. Who cares what people think when I've got His approval?!

And all that seems so impossible, so overwhelming to me. How do I deserve that? I don't, nobody does. But what else is Easter for? How do I live up to that? How do I live out of that? How do I represent that? And that's where I'm so blessed and revived with His courage and abilities. One of the things that I love about God's love the best is that it has nothing to do with me. The love He gives me is all about Him, who He is, not about me and who I'm not. That's what makes it so stable. And the same thing holds true with His all powerful nature. The fact that He can do anything has nothing to do with who He's using, it's all about how He is working in His people. It's not about any kind of effort on my part, because God will never be trumped by human efforts. It's all about His abilities, His love. In my flesh, my identity is a failure and a sinner. But in Christ, it's new. I'm able, forgiven and loved. And that love is victorious, infectious and reigns over all. I can't but He can, through me. That's what's so exciting to me. It's not about me or what I can or can't do at all. Because when it is about me, it's all up to me, and those idols are never far down the road. But when it's about Him being able through me, that's when things I never dared to imagine happen. Like John the Baptist said,"He must increase, I must decrease." 

So I'm making it my goal to change the shirts my heart and mind are wearing. I think the new message on my new shirts should say something like "I'm with the Able One." What statement are you wearing on your heart?