Jesus Gives You a New Identity
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 1 Peter 2.9-10
You care what other people think about you. Maybe it isn’t your biggest concern, and maybe other people care more then you do, but if you are honest with yourself, you would have to admit that your identity matters. It isn’t only important what others think of you, but also what you think of yourself. Self-esteem, peer recognition, respect drive everything from how you make decisions to what kind of food that you eat. You are a slave to the task of defining yourself.
Jesus frees you from the bondage of your own importance. He takes the weight of your sin off of your shoulders, but He also removes the responsibility of making something of yourself: you no longer have to show the world that you are worthy; you no longer have to accomplish the things on your to-do list; you no longer need the approval of those around you. He has made you a new person.
The gospel not only shows you that you are saved by grace alone, but through that grace it releases you from your struggle with insignificance. You don’t need to achieve anything; it has been given to you:
Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people.
You have a new identity. You are now a child of God. When you do wonderful things, you are a child of God. When you fail miserably, you are a child of God. When people dislike you, you are a child of God. When people tell you how wonderful you are, you are a child of God. There is nothing that balances your life more completely than the truth that Jesus has loved you because of who He is, and will keep on loving you because of who He is.