Every time my Christian friend went out, her spouse told
her, “Now remember who you are.” He referred
to her status as a child of God, perhaps to boost her confidence or to help her
behave in such a manner that represented Jesus Christ.
It is a good reminder. When I am in a new situation and
even in a familiar place with people that I know, thinking about who I am in
Jesus makes a great deal of difference to my attitude and actions. John’s
letter has these verses that give the basics of how this focus should affect
God’s people . . .
And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him. 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 2:28–3:3)
Actually, this is more about who Jesus is than who I am
because of Him. I need to focus on Jesus and the above passage tells me several
reasons why. First, relying on Him changes the way I act and keeps me from
saying or doing things that might make me blush when I see Him face-to-face. I
know that sounds a bit like that Christmas ditty that begins, “You better watch out, you better be nice .
. . .” but it isn’t a threat. His presence right now is a reality. If I
walked into any situation with Jesus as my escort, holding my hand and opening
doors for me as a physical presence, I would have an entirely different
demeaner than being totally alone. This is not hard to imagine — but why is it
so hard to remember!
Second, anyone who knows that Jesus is righteous will assume
that when I talk and behave in a righteous manner that I am His child! This
evidence of being a Christian will affect other people.
John reminds me that I am a child of God but some will not
recognize me as His child, just as some did not recognize Jesus as God’s Son. I’m
not to be surprised by that but remember that when He appears, I will be
exactly like Him, a reflection of who He is. Thinking this way changes my
ambitions. Instead of wanting to be popular, famous, an achiever, or gain any
other temporary status, I am set on being pure.
This word means faultless, not in the sense of selfish perfectionism (which is
a flaw) but in the sense of being holy, sincere, a person of integrity, like
Jesus. This ambition for purity is not to produce arrogance or flow from a
superiority complex. Those are also flaws. Instead, it is a combination of
humility (for I’ve nothing that earns or deserves it) and confidence in Jesus
Christ.
At this point in my life, no one reminds me to, “Remember
who you are” but the Holy Spirit can do that when I need to hear it.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Lord Jesus, I also realize that focusing on You is not
mainly about what it does for me. In Your motivation, it might be but on my side
of it, I’m not to have any hint of “what’s in this for me” because selfishness
ruins the focus on You! I’m to glorify You, not me. To be changed into Your
likeness is to bring You glory. Certainly these reasons reveal why this is so
difficult to do and to remember; it is far easier for sinful me to want all of
this for myself.
Today’s thankful list . . .
- many reminders today of God’s grace in my life.
- visits with friends and those I’ve not met before today.
- seeing the excitement of a friend who needed a new car
and God supplied it so quick that we are shaking our heads in wonder.
- Spring in November — aka 10 degrees C. at 8:00 pm
- an afternoon of rest before a big dinner out to
celebrate two birthdays.
- Baked Alaska!
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