By Bill Morgan, LifeGroup leader of CVCYouth
I have a handful of personal notes from my father and mother written to me over the years. In no way were they prolific writers. But, there are a few notes that I have kept and cherished. In particular, the notes where they tell me how much they love and are proud of me stand out. Why is that?
I don’t care who you are or how you are wired: we need to be told we are loved and cherished. It runs to the core of the human experience.
It also runs to the core of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Last year in the LifeGroup I lead with CVCYouth, we studied the book of Ephesians. What struck me time and time again was Paul’s systematic reminder of our new identity we have in Christ.
Identity? What are you known for? Student … athlete … nice kid … bad kid … person with the really cool house and lots of stuff … troubled person with wreckage in your past? What is it that identifies you?
In Christ, we are told clearly that we are loved by God. Think of that! My father and mother may love me, are even proud of me, and I cling to their memory. Even more, God loves me!
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. Ephesians 2:4-5
Remember: our past may help explain who we are, but it cannot identify us now. Our new identity is in Christ. We are His beloved.
