Who truly loves the person they are, through and through? Who is entirely content with themselves? My guess is no one.
Every day, every person, everywhere modifies her identity to a certain extent based on her imagination, resources, and determination to become someone other – better? – than who she truly is.
At this particular moment in history, it seems fitting to acknowledge that discontentment with one’s identity is a universal sentiment. I think the reason we are discontent is revealed in the Bible; it comes down to sin. The more I study this topic, the more I can see that sin not only fuels our discontentment but is the very thing we hate about ourselves.
I don’t think it’s our gender, our hair, our size, or our skin color that we dislike. I think it’s our soul that makes us wrestle and sigh and search for escape. No amount of effort or money will transform the sinful nature that torments us from the inside-out with discontentment and darkness. We may transform everything from head-to-toe, but should not be surprised when we are still in there, completely unaffected.
What a time to remember that Jesus alone can transform the desperate human being into something glorious. As I read recent headlines, it dawns on me that we are offered an identity transformation of the best and truest kind. God has provided the extravagant riches and expertise to make us lovelier than we could ever imagine. I can speak as a witness: my soul – my identity – is entirely new because of Christ. And that changes everything.
“From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.b The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19that is, in Christ God was reconcilingc the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. ”
2 Corinthians 5:17 – 21
