Know Who You Are

Sometimes in our effort to dig deeper into the treasure chest of knowledge of God we leave behind what we've already learned.  The things that rocked us before have been thrown away in search of something new, something novel about God.  Friends, every bit of knowledge about God is to be kept and adored.  Today I want to start with something so fundamental yet beyond amazing.

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved..." Colossians 3:12a

God chose us, He set us apart and He dearly loves us.  Wow!  This is not a truth to be thrown away when we learn something new, this is a jewel to be eternally delighted in.

God chose you.  Yes, you.  He chose a broken, feeble, rebel.  God picked you out and decided to pursue you; not only that, He decided to create you, watch you rebel and then win you back.  The Church, the body of Christ, is a group of chosen people.

We are a holy people.  Holy in this sense means 'set apart'.  God has something more for you than the rat race of meaningless life described by King Solomon in Ecclesiastes.  As the band Switchfoot sang, "We were meant to live for so much more."

You are dearly loved by God.  This is more mind-blowing than just about anything I can think of.  I'm sitting here trying to find something other than God Himself that is more amazing than the fact that God loves us.  God is the greatest being/thing in the universe; in fact, He made the universe.  And He loves you.  Let that sink in.  He loves you dearly.  Treasure that fact.

God has defined us.  You and I don't get to define ourselves, the Author of Life defines us.  So, you don't have the right to be self loathing, suicidal and self-exiling.  You don't decide if you're lovable, God's already done that.  It is an insult to God to re-define what He's already defined.  As Christians we are a chosen people, holy and dearly loved and nothing will change that.  Nothing, so stop trying and just accept that you are dearly loved.

Paul then moved on to tell us what we are to do in light of God's definition of us.

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."  Colossians 3:12-14

I'll let those verses speak for themselves, but that is how we live in light of who we are.  For more on bearing with one another I invite you to read my pastor Jim Lee's blog on that, he does a great job explaining that in a short text.

I implore you to be captivated with the "elementary" truth that you are chosen, holy and dearly loved.  Meditate on that truth and live in light of it.  Know who you are and act accordingly today.