My True Identiy
For he (Christ) chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.”
(Ephesians 1:4,5)
For much of my life I have wondered, Who am I? Where do I belong?
I was born of German parents in the Ukraine. During the second World War we fled from our country always just ahead of the Russian front. We lived in refugee camps across Europe. As? displaced persons, we refugee kids were never allowed to forget that we were not as good as the children who were born there. Later when we immigrated to Canada, I became an immigrant girl who never quite fit in with her teen crowd. Often I felt like a fish out of water.
? Gym classes were the worst. I had never even seen a basketball, let alone dribbled one and shot a basket. I’d never held a baseball bat, and–uncoordinated as I was–trying to hit a moving ball was like trying to jump onto a moving train. I’d strike out every time. When teams were chosen, guess who was left standing? Then the teacher would give me to the lacking team. As you can imagine, my self-esteem was a big, fat zero in those days. Actually, it felt like I was stuck in a freezing minus zone.
? I carried this “I-don’t-have-what-it-takes” mind-set well into adulthood. When I first heard that Jesus loved me enough to die for me (not just for the whole wide world, but for Me!), I could hardly believe it. But there was more: He had chosen me to adopt me into his family. In his grand plan for humanity, crafted before the creation of the world, God had written down my name. Whatever made him do it? It gave him pleasure!
Slowly it began to dawn on me that Jesus, when He came into my heart, placed within me his DNA. I really belong! I have a destiny; I have an? inheritance that is eternal.
This was so glorious that I felt like celebrating. After careful thought, I gave myself the name Grace. Every time I write my name, I’m celebrating my new identity.
Where are you on this faith journey? Has life given you some cruel blows? Do you feel excluded from the in – crowd, pushed aside, stepped on, dropped by those you thought were your friends? These are hurtful things, but they don’t have to define you. The real truth about you is found in (Ephesians 1:3 – 14). Put your name where it says “we” or “us.” Say the verses out loud to yourself, adding, “this is who I really am.”
Believe the truth about your self? as God pronounces it. In Christ you are a beloved person with an eternal destiny.
~Father, I pray that the eyes of our hearts may be enlightened in order that we may know the hope to which you have called us: that we may begin to enjoy our glorious inheritance even now. I pray that we may experience your great power giving us strength to walk with dignity and joy each day.
Related Links:
Retired and Feeling Useless?
http://www.retirementwithapurpose.com/mluseless.html
About the Author
This article was written by Helen Lescheid. You can read more about this author by clicking this link:
http://www.talk.thelife.com/helen-lescheid/
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