A Prayer to Remember Who You Are in Christ - Your Daily Prayer - May 13
A Prayer to Remember Who You Are in Christ
By Sophia Bricker
Bible Reading:
“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure” (1 John 3:1-3, ESV).
Listen or Read Below:
In The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill, Luna’s mother suffered the loss of identity at the hands of the Sorrow Eater. All she knew in her prison was that her child had been taken, though she couldn’t remember her baby’s name. She didn’t even know her own. When Luna is finally reunited with her mother and works to discover her name, she begins the practice of speaking it to her mother. No longer is she merely the “madwoman.” As Luna tells her, “It’s all right if you don’t remember it. I’ll keep saying it until you do” (Algonquin Young Readers, 2016, p. 375). In this powerful act, Luna reminds her mother that her former captors do not define her anymore. She must remember who she is–a beloved mother who risked so much to find her daughter.
Oftentimes, we also need to be reminded of who we are. When we sin and the guilt overwhelms us, we wonder if we have strayed too far from His grace. Or when the words of others drown out what God says about us, leading us to believe a false narrative of our life and purpose. Instead of walking as freed people set apart for Christ, we are weighed down by an imposed identity that leaves us feeling incapable and unworthy.
In those moments, we need the words from today’s passage in 1 John. We are children of God (1 John 3:1). This is not a self-proclaimed title, that some choose to embrace. Neither is it only an identity that we will enjoy in the future, having no bearing on our lives in the present. Rather, the Apostle John wrote that believers in Jesus have been called children of God by the Father. Nothing we did earned this designation, as if we could earn a gift given in love. For it was the great love of God that made us His children. As John wrote in his Gospel, “ Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God” (John 1:12-13, NIV).
If there were any reason to doubt our identity, John included a short explanatory note into his epistle: “and so we are” (1 John 3:1, ESV). God called us His children because it is a reality. Instead of being separated individuals, distant from the Lord, we have been brought near, adopted, and brought into the family of God. That is the reality, the truth we need when other aspects of life make us question who we are and what we were made for.
Though we may or may not have someone in our lives like Luna, who will speak our name and remind us of who we are, we have the Lord who calls us by name and declares we are His. We can regularly turn to that truth to remember our identity and find courage to walk by faith the road He has marked for us. And even if we sometimes forget or don’t fully believe it, we can trust that He will keep calling us by name until we do.
Let’s Pray:
Great God who spoke the world into being and formed the first human from the dust of the ground, You are the One who names the stars and makes nations rise and fall. So why do I so easily forget who You say I am when warring narratives come my way, or failure leaves me feeling untethered? Other aspects of life also try to define me: my job, relationships, sins, hobbies, and interests. Yet the Sovereign of all has already said who I am the moment I placed faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection. You define me and are the only One who can tell me what I was made for.
Remind me again, gracious Father, that I am Your child, beloved not because I am perfect or must earn Your favor, but because of Your love. It was love that compelled You to send Your one and only Son into the world to save us. It was love that led Jesus to lay down His life for us. And it is love that sustains and keeps me today. I want to walk in that love as I live as Your child.
In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
Join the conversation! Share how today’s devotional spoke to you on the Crosswalk Forum.
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Ben-Schonewille
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