Faith that Conquers: How strong is your identity in Christ?

April 13, 2022

I recently watched the shows “Inventing Anna” on Netflix and “The Dropout” on Hulu, and it had me thinking about identity. Both shows were based on true stories of women pretending to be someone they are not. 

Who do you identify with? 

I identify as a fan of the Iowa State Cyclones, particularly during March Madness. They lost – also reminding me that disappointment in life is guaranteed – something with which we can all identify. 

Maybe you identified with the underdog – the St. Peter’s Peacocks, who shocked and delighted the nation, making it all the way to the Elite Eight. Dream and believe and see how far it takes you, right? Who doesn’t identify with that?  I was also cheering them on after ISU lost. 

Some people are embarrassed by how they once identified. One of my five sisters won the title of Pork Princess by the Carroll County Pork Producers in high school, runner up to Pork Queen. Decades later, she still thinks it’s embarrassing. 
I can idenfiy with that embarrassment or shame when thinking about major failures or sins of my past. Just keep pushing them down and they will go away, right?  Wrong. 

My pork princess sister made it out okay though. As a graduate of the University of Kansas, she identifies with the winners – the Kansas Jayhawks – the 2022 NCAA National Champions. 
Does how you identify go against the grain?

I’ll never forget the time I was walking across Iowa State University campus between classes amidst a mob of fellow students when I spotted a very tall male from afar sporting a bright yellow Hawkeye sweatshirt. He stuck out like a sore thumb – you couldn’t miss him. 

“Seriously?” I thought to myself. 

As we were about to pass each other near the Memorial Union, I almost didn’t even look at him. “Why give this guy the satisfaction of acknowledging him and his ‘obnoxious’ sweatshirt?” I thought to myself. But then I did look. And I realized it was my younger brother, whom I identify as family!

I called out his name. And of course I gave him a hard time about his sweatshirt. 

“What?” he asked, feigning innocence with a chuckle, smile and shrug. After chatting for a few minutes, he was on his merry way to class – definitely going against the grain. 

It takes courage and conviction to go against the grain. Jesus definitely went against the grain. He treated women as equals, stood his ground with the Pharisees and Sadducees, and befriended social outcasts, transforming them. He cast out demons, healed the sick, and even raised the dead. Jesus spoke out against evil and wrongdoing. 

It takes courage to speak out. It takes courage to spread the Gospel and the truth of Jesus. But as daughters and sons of the living God, it’s our responsibility. 

In the face of sin, Jesus flipped the tables of moneychangers and seats of those selling doves in the Temple. (Matthew 21: 12-13) His anger was righteous and justified. I’ve never flipped tables, but I can identify with Jesus’ anger. 

Jesus was not afraid to speak the truth – nor should we, cancel culture or not. 

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus discusses his identity with the disciples, asking them who people say he is, before confirming that he is the Messiah. (Matthew 16: 13-20). 

Just a few verses later, Jesus tells us that if we want to identify with him, we must join him in the suffering he endured on Good Friday. 

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct.”  (Matthew 16: 24-27)  

Full of love and trust in my savior, I accept this challenge. My identity is grounded in Jesus.