Overcoming the False Identity for the True One

Identity refers to who we are, but it is more complex than just a matter of being.  In reality, identity is a two-fold concept encompassing both who we claim to be and who we actually are.  This might seem trivial but there is significance in determining both parts of our identity in hopes that we could align the two parts into one coalesced true self.  

At the onset, it must be stated that the only true identity is found in Christ.  Any identity that attempts to amputate the self from God is ultimately inauthentic and untrue.  God is a God of truth.  More astutely, God is the sole source of true truth.  Any claim to truth that sits outside of the holy Lord is fractal at best in it trueness, because being not connected to the source of truth, it cannot be wholly true.

In reference to identity, truth is of immense importance.  Who we actually are is to be determined solely in the Lord.  Multiple parts make up who we truly are in Christ.  For starters, we are saved in Jesus, meaning that our sins have been absolved and we have been freed from guilt as well as the penalty of sin, which is death.  Additionally, in Christ, we are planted as trees of righteousness, bearing fruits of the Spirit: kindness, gentleness, goodness, patience, perseverance, et al.  The point is that, in Jesus, our identity is remade into an identity that mirrors Christ, His character and love.

The major hindrance to claiming and walking in our redeemed identity is ourselves.  This part of identity, who we claim to be or who we think we are, often stands in opposition of who we truly are and can be in Christ.  Each of us is an exceptional actor, able to expertly conceal and pretend.  Over time we become so adept at portraying the facade that we start to believe that the charade is reality.  This is a lie of Satan.

The disconnect between our real self, found only in the Lord, and the fake facade self that we naturally project, is wide but not unconquerable.  There is a technique, a method, for handling this divide.  For one, we have to address the facade directly and confront the act head on.  Only when we come to grips with our own forgery, the act that we portray, are we able to live as our true selves in the Lord.  This process requires some direct and intense Spirit-led introspection.  However, once we overcome our false selves can we live out our true self.  Let us then press on to be true with ourselves so as to claim our true identity in the Lord!