Devotion: Identity
Ephesians 4:1-6 (NIV)
“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
I’ve been a member of at least a couple dozen organizations during my six-plus decades. Many of them gave me a pin to identify me as a member, with all the rights and responsibilities pertaining thereto. Relationships and skills I developed in those organizations have helped to shape my life. But it is my membership in the Body of Christ that defines me.
I was not a happy camper when I learned in sixth grade that I would not be able to be a Girl Scout. I had loved Brownies and was eager to “fly up” to Girl Scouts. But, Scouts and confirmation met at the same time – Wednesday afternoons – and there was no question in my family where I would be: at church.
Those three years of confirmation helped me to understand God’s love for me and the life he wants for me, and what he wants from me and what he expects. Those Wednesdays helped me to claim the promises my parents and Godparents had made for me at my baptism.
We don’t get a membership pin when we’re baptized. But more important and more lasting, we are marked with the Cross of Christ FOREVER and identified as God’s beloved.
Paul tells us in this passage from Ephesians to live a life that reflects God’s love – that reflects our identity as part of the family of God. We are called to be humble and gentle, patient, cutting each other some slack and keeping in mind the importance of loving relationships over winning points or arguments, with all of this grounded by the shared presence of the Holy Spirit. Jesus himself repeatedly urged us to love one another. This clear guidance helps us to see every person as God’s beloved, worthy of our respect and care.
Nowadays many people find their identity in the work they do or the things they own or how they use their leisure time. This focus on self is sad, and, I believe, ultimately unfulfilling and isolating. These people miss out on the joy of being part of a community, of giving and receiving, of being loved for who they are, not what they do or own. May the Holy Spirit kindle in them the desire to know the blessing of community and identity as a Child of God.
Father God, before we are anything else, we are your children. Help us to live as children of your light and welcome all those you call into community with us. Amen.
Written by Cheryl Stubbendieck
Cheryl Stubbendieck is a member of Sheridan’s Devotion Writing Team. She and her husband Jim live near Sheridan. Their family includes their son Aaron and his wife Chaitra of San Francisco, CA and their son Reed of Madison, WI. Cheryl was the public relations department head for Nebraska Farm Bureau before retiring in 2012. She spent the next four years as the volunteer manager of Barnabas Community and now helps to manage the OneSent Market.