The Power of a New Identity

Translation: I am who the Great I AM says I am (Mural at the Makarios School)

At one point or another in our lives, we are all faced with the question “Who am I?”. Where we place our identity and find our value, matters. It influences how we see ourselves and others, and impacts the decisions we make. There are many lies that we can be tempted to believe from what the world says about who we are or how we measure up to societal norms or expectations. We believe the best way to fight these lies is to hold fast to scripture about who God says we are. In the vulnerable communities where we work, these lies can be particularly challenging to overcome. This is why teaching about the new identity the believer has in Christ is a crucial part of the gospel message as it has incredible power to free a person from the shackles of a false identity.

“Many materially poor people are enslaved by a marred identity, a sense of inferiority and worthlessness that is both demoralizing and disempowering. These feelings can stem from many sources: previous failures in life, discrimination based on race, gender, or caste; oppressive systems; abusive people, and fatalistic worldviews that say people who are poor will always be poor. It's difficult for many of us who are not materially poor to understand how enslaving a marred identity can be. As a result, we drastically underestimate the incredible power that can be unleashed by simply helping materially poor people embrace the simple truth that they are made in God's image."

-Becoming Whole, by Brian Fikkert and Kelly M. Kapic

Every believer has to learn their identity in Christ. Through Christ, we are adopted into the family of God. We are sons and daughters of the one True God and co-heirs with Christ. There is no shame or condemnation because God washed us of our sins and made us a new creation. This is great news for the downcast and poor in spirit. Our value comes from who God says we are, not the current temporary circumstances we find ourselves in. Praise God!

"Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him, the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit."

-Ephesians 2:19-22

In Makarios, when someone seeks to be spiritually restored through Christ, we want them to know they have a new identity. For our students and their families, we want them to know they are loved by our Creator and that God is molding them into who they were meant to be. For our church partners and school partners, we want them to have the tools and knowledge to be able to walk alongside families in their communities and speak the truth about who God made them to be. Our hope is that believers everywhere; our neighbors, our families, and our friends, would see themselves as God’s beloved and live out of that place of love and belonging to the Kingdom of God. When we believe in who God says we are, we start living more like the redeemed people we are.

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Did you miss a post in this special blog series on Spiritual Restoration? Check them out by clicking on the links below.

‍1: Defining Spiritual Restoration (What is Spiritual Restoration?)

2: Our relationship with God (The Foundational Relationship)

→ 3. Our relationship with Self (The Power of a New Identity)←

4. Our relationship with Others

5. Our relationship with the rest of Creation