4/3/21 Day 14

TODAY'S VERSE: 4/3/21 Day 14

So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. - Romans 8:15-17

 

TODAY'S DEVOTION:

As a child of the 80s, I was the proud owner of a Rubik’s Cube. It looked amazing when I first got it – so neat and organized. Of course, the first thing I did after admiring it was to scramble up the pieces so that it was no longer in its original form. Since YouTube wasn’t a thing yet, I would get really frustrated trying to put the puzzle back together. It seemed like every move I made just made things worse. Then, some people would offer their advice: “Solve for one side, then move to the next.” By taking their advice, I would get one side put together, but it all came crashing down again when I moved to the next.

Just like the Rubik’s Cube, we enter this world with a fixed identity. Yet, as we begin to grow, something changes. Our lives begin to experience the scramble. Some of it is because of choices we make, and some of it is because of what others put on us. At some point, our lives can become so much about our fear of failure, our codependency, or even the masks we wear to cover up our shame, such as apathy - “It’s just a stupid puzzle, I don’t care anymore.” However, just like the scrambled Rubik’s Cube, our lack of discernible identity is man-made. It comes from the lies we tell ourselves about who we are – “I’m not good enough”; “They’ll hate me if they find out”; “No one could ever really love me”. It also comes from the lies that others tell us about who we are – “You’re not smart enough”; “You need to change how you look”; “If you just do more, then you’ll be worthy”.

Believing the lies, makes us more scrambled than ever. But the truth is that our identity is not based on what we think or what others think. Our identity is based on God alone. You see, we are all Image-Bearers of God. What is more, as Christians who have received the Holy Spirit, our identity is as simple as three words: “Children of God”. Let God unscramble your identity and remind you that you are his child. While the world record for solving a Rubik’s Cube is 4.22 seconds (see here), God can do an even greater work in you. If you will let him, God can work in you to remove the lies around your identity and remind you that you are still who you were when you took your first breath – a precious child loved unconditionally by the Father (Abba).

Murph Hutson
Intern Pastor

TODAY'S PRAYER:

Abba, help us to unscramble our man-made identities. Let us accept the truth that we are your loved children. Remind us that you love us not because of anything we can do for you but because of who you are. Begin tearing down the lies surrounding our identities and help us to reclaim our identities as your beloved children. Amen



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