Who I Am In Christ

Who are you? OK, what labels did you attach to your name? Mother of...? Wife of...? Did you name your career? Or the school where you got your diploma or degree? Why is it we have to qualify ourselves? Why can't we be just Kate or Jane or Mary? I remember an episode of Touched By an Angel in which Tess asked another angel who she was. The other angel replied simply, "I am Monica." Do we add those labels to our names to give us more importance or to make us unique?

My sister, don't you know that you are already important and unique in the Father's eyes? He has written your name on the palm of his hand. You are His beloved. Unfortunately, so many of us have no idea of what we are worth to Him. We see ourselves as flawed, based on past experience, what society says about women like us, what cruel and hurtful things that have been said about us by our families or others, even by our own selves. Have you ever wished that you were someone else? Wanted to change your hair or nose or your body? (I confess, ladies, I do it too. I color my hair.) Why is that? Why do we want to be someone we are not? I think the answer lies chiefly in what the media tells us is beautiful. She is tall, shapely but evenly proportioned. Her face is symmetrical with slightly round eyes, full lips, perfectly arched brows. She has no wrinkles, scars, stretch marks or liposuction. She is graceful, never wears glasses or braces, has highlights in her hair. Black women are taught that the lighter their skin is, the better, while white women need to have a tan to be beautiful. Even after these women have children, they are back to their pre-pregnancy figure within weeks. They eat salads and yogurt, and the occasional chicken breast. Let me tell you a secret: that is virtually impossible to achieve. And I guarantee those women who achieve those standards of "perfection" still have doubts and fears, the same as us "regular" girls. I have another secret for you: God thinks you are beautiful.

Have you ever thought that you aren't good enough for ministry? That you can't sing or preach or teach so you are just relegated to the back pew, wearing your nondescript clothes, listening to the preacher talk about missions and blessings and thinking that you aren't going to get anything big, you just aren't that important? Maybe you made a big mistake in your past. Maybe you were cast away by your husband or earthly father. Maybe you were abused and bullied. Maybe, like me, you spent time in prison. Oh, my sister, lift your head! You are beautiful! You are important! You are powerful!

Chances are that you are not believing at least some of what I have said. Some of you don't believe any of it. I know. I was one of those women a few short years ago. And then I began to learn what was important: who I am in Christ. Apart from Him, I am nothing. But IN Him... oh I am so much more than I ever dreamed possible. It's a process, it took me a very long time before I even began to believe what the Bible said about me. I want to take you through 33 things that you are in Christ. This should take anywhere from 6 to 12 weeks to do, but we will get there. I know we each want to be stronger, better women of God, more effective in our lives. Learning who you are in Christ is the first step. In the next posting I will list the qualities and the Bible verses that support them. I am so glad you decided to join me on this journey! Let's get started!