Spouse. Parent. Chauffeur. Coach. Child. Sibling. Friend. Artist. Leader. Mentor. Extrovert. What identity labels do you give yourself? Do you have a job title and/or a distinction? As a society, we are preoccupied with labels, which we use to categorize, to classify, to generalize, to identify commonalities and yet also to demonstrate what makes us unique individuals. Are these labels the sum of our identity? Underneath a confident exterior, do you give yourself any negative labels? Perhaps you hear negative labels from others. Whether we mean to or not, we draw circles of who's in and who's out.
Christian. Are you surprised to find where that label falls on your list? Did you think of it first, or last or somewhere in the middle? What does this label mean? Saved. Loved. Worthy. Heir.
Paul tells us that we are all one in Christ. What does it mean to be one in Christ? There are no divisions. There is but one true distinction, and that is our identity in Christ. We are all children of God. Strip away all other labels. Strip away race, gender, class. They still exist, of course, but we are bound by our identify in Christ - first and foremost.
When I was a kid, I desperately wanted to belong ... to teams, to groups, to clubs. I loved the Mickey Mouse Club, and I had fantasies about being in that club. Do you remember the
Mickey Mouse Club March? Let's replace chanting the spelling of M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E with J-E-S-U-S C-H-R-I-S-T. The song takes on a whole new meaning, especially if we change the second verse. Here's part of the song - have fun finishing the rest of it.
Who's the leader of the club
That's made for you and me
J-E-S-...U-S C-...H-R-I-S-T!
Have faith in your salvation
God's gift of grace is free
J-E-S-...U-S C-...H-R-I-S-T!
Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ
Forever let us hold our banner high
High, high, high!
