Who or what is shaping your identity? In a world filled with competing voices telling us who we should be, it is easy to lose sight of who God created us to be. Colossians 3:1–4 reminds us that when we belong to Christ, our identity is rooted in Him—not in the opinions of others, our achievements, or the standards of this world.
Who is shaping your identity?
A young farmer stumbled across an abandoned eaglet, and feeling sympathy for it, took it home. He nursed the eaglet back to health and then raised it with his chickens on a farm.
The eaglet grew up – eating chicken feed, learning how to cluck, scratching the dirt, pecking the ground, fully believing it was a chicken. Many years later, a visitor to the farm saw the bird and told the owner “Umm, that is an eagle, not a chicken.” The owner disagreed, saying, “I have trained it to be a chicken; in fact, it no longer flies.”
The visitor refused to accept this, took the bird to the top of a high mountain and encouraged it to look up. The eagle trembled, scared, reluctant, and hesitant. The visitor then thought he needs the right motivation, so he gently tossed him into the air over the side of the mountain, expecting him to fly. But instead, it dropped to its death down the side of the mountain.
The farmer had spent so much time raising it a certain way, the bird had spent too much time influenced by the chickens around it, that it didn’t know who it was anymore. I know, a tragic ending.
Whose voice is shaping your identity?
The Point of this story is that our identity drives our motivation, it steers our desires, dictates what we do. In this second article of the series called TUNED IN, we will be focusing on Influence & Identity. And it’s so important that, in the noise of this world, in the midst of many competing voices trying to influence us and shape our understanding of who we are, that we ground our identity in the One Voice that is truly life-giving and life-fulfilling. That we allow God who created us and Jesus who saved us to shape who we are because only He wants and knows what is best for you.
“Yet no matter how deeply we struggle with insecurity, rejection, or a distorted view of ourselves, we are not beyond hope; through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, God can renew our minds, restore our identity in Christ, and teach us to live in the freedom of His truth (Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 5:17).”
Your Identity in Christ Is Secure for Eternity
In Colossians 3:3, the apostle Paul writes that “we are hidden with Christ in God.” In this verse, I want to draw your attention to the word “hidden.” Kruptó, the Greek word meaning concealed or hidden, indicates that we are not hidden out of fear, but for our protection.
When we come to know Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, our eternal life is guaranteed in Him and nothing and no one can rip that away. It’s like a precious treasure that is hidden away in a safe place, where others cannot find it.
But this protection extends to our earthly lives as well. Jesus, as our Lord and Saviour, gives new meaning to us through a relationship with Him. And in so doing, that means we no longer need to be influenced by unhealthy, less important, less helpful voices. That’s because what Jesus promises us, not just eternally but here on earth, is so much greater than anything the world can offer. Our identity in Christ is secure!
How Christ Shapes and Protects Our Identity
An identity formed in Christ, not shaped by the world, provides spiritual guardianship. When you hear the word guardianship, what do you think of? Guardianship, for me, brings to mind how a parent or grandparent looks after their child or grandchild. Christ is our Guardian, He is our Protector, our Refuge, when pressure and outside influence mounts against us. Colossians 3:1-4, as we’ve heard read, challenges the temptation in our life to measure our success and our identity according to the world’s metrics and expectations, but to find true protection and guardianship by understanding how a relationship with him changes your life.
How is Jesus like a Guardian who hides you away in Him?
And what does a life that believes in Jesus and seeks to become more like Jesus offer that the world cannot?
First, In Christ we have unconditional worth
The apostle Paul, who writes several books in the New Testament, pens a letter to the church in Galatia that we now call Galatians. And in Galatians 1:10, Paul asks an important question:
“Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people?
If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” Did you hear that? It is not our goal or purpose to win the approval of other people. And that’s such a hard lesson for us to accept.
The truth is we all long for acceptance and belonging. But the problem is we often search for it in all the wrong places.
Social Media and the search for approval
I think the most common place we seek validation today is on social media. Did you know that approximately 67% of adolescents and 60% of the general population who use social media report feeling worse about their own lives because of social media and the filtered realities they see online (Forbes).
The filtered reality we present to others
Filtered realities. You know what I mean by filtered realities, right? When we try to paint these fake pictures of our lives, right? A meticulously curated, specific image that we want to convey to people, even though it may not reflect the full reality of our life. Social media easily lends itself to filtered realities, but it’s not just social media that we create these fake pictures, false images of our lives.
I like to compare these filtered realities to a fast food menu.
When appearances don’t match reality
Picture your favourite burger joint. You are scanning the menu 
and you see this picture of a beautiful burger. It’s this tender, mouthwatering patty nestled between a soft, lightly toasted bun, layered perfectly with crisp lettuce, fresh tomato, creamy cheese dripping over the side, and just the right
amount of savory sauce, all arranged to make it look so appealing that you can’t ignore it. But the truth is, what we get actually often looks a little something like this.
Are you measuring your worth by the world's standards?
How often do we do this same thing, not with burgers, but in how we share our lives to gain validation or affirmation, sometimes even from people we barely know. We search for value and acceptance in how many likes or comments a social media post has, how many people send us Birthday greetings each year, the number of folks who congratulate us on a personal accomplishment or achievement; we measure our worth based on our connections, reputation, appearance, income, and the list goes on and on. All things that, if we let them, convince us of where our value and worth come from. But in reality, these unhealthy worldly longings, that we are convinced look like what we need end up being more like this bad burger.
For those of us who struggle with self-worth and who try to measure it by these false ideas of worldly worth and value, I want you to hear this: your worth and value is not measured by these.
What does God say about your worth?
You are lovingly designed and loved by God. In fact, Ephesians 2:10 says as much. It says:
“For we are God’s workmanship/handiwork, created in Christ Jesus, to do good works which God
prepared in advance for us to do.”
This word “workmanship/handiwork” comes from the Greek word poiéma. Poiema suggests that we have God’s fingerprint on us, that we are clearly marked as His, uniquely and lovingly made in His Image, not mass-produced.
Just as every book has an author, every song has a composer, every invention has an inventor, we are God’s creation and he deems us beautiful, valued, and worthy of his eternal love, worthy of redemption. Not because of anything we have or haven’t done.
We aren’t valued by Jesus because we have achieved some arbitrary, worldly standard, but because God made us and Jesus loved us. That’s it.
A little girl saw some toys labeled as Made in Palau. She asked her grandfather if she was made, and he responds – yes, and continued with a teaching moment with his granddaughter. “It’s not where we were made- but who made us – that’s more important, and that is God.
She then asked him if he was made by God too. He assured her he was. She said “God’s doing a better job now don’t you think?” In her own playful way, his granddaughter was pointing out the contrast between them, teasingly suggesting that the Lord’s creative craftsmanship must be improving over time!
Remember, we are valuable and worthy not because of how we look or what we do or who we’re friends with. Our value and worth is only because God, in His infinite mercy, chose to create us, and love us, and then redeem us through His Son, Jesus.
You are God's masterpiece
There’s another translation of the word Poiema in Ephesians 2: masterpiece. The same God who spoke the universe into being—stars, suns, vast galaxies— views us as His masterpiece, His most beloved creation. And what God has established in Christ cannot be changed or altered by the opinions or voices of others or even ourselves, thank goodness for that! A pursuit of worldly acceptance and belonging will always, always lead to the same outcome: disappointment. Self-loathing. Insecurity.
In Christ we have lasting security
Unlike the world, in Christ, we have security. Our earthly feeling of security comes from a number of sources. We can find a little comfort in our careers, our responsibilities and relationships, our status and our reputation—at least for a time.
But what happens when these earthly things change? Because often they do.
We or others can tarnish our reputations, our jobs can be terminated in an instant, our responsibilities can shift suddenly, our circumstances may become draining. And when these changes happen, we no longer find peace, comfort, or security in them.
Why?
Because once again we have allowed ourselves to be defined by another lens apart from Jesus Christ.
What truly defines who you are?
If someone were to ask you to share who you are, what would you say?
Some of you might say you’re a Father; a mother; a grandparent. You might claim to be a Teacher, a lawyer, a Pastor. You might be Canadian, Chinese, British, Spanish, or rich, poor, or homeless.
But guess what? None of these earthly labels matter nearly as much as this one: Child of God. This title defines who we are and thus how we live.
Child of God: An Identity in Christ That Lasts Forever
And for those who are in Christ, this identity is forever secured in Christ’s love. Romans 8:38-39
“Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about
tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love…indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love…indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Through His victory over sin and death, Jesus secured our overwhelming victory by shedding His blood on the cross. No matter how often we feel stepped on, spit on, crushed, or defeated by worldly standards, our victory over sin in Christ Jesus remains. His love, poured into our lives, and the peace provided by the Holy Spirit are permanent and cannot be taken away.
Circumstances may change, people may leave you, challenges will come your way, and you will face failure—but nothing prevents God’s adoration of you and Christ’s love for you.
Thank goodness that our security as Children of God, and as Followers of Jesus, is not determined by how strongly we hold onto Christ but how firmly He continues to hold onto us.
Build Your Life on Christ: Worth, Security, and Fullness
So, in Christ we have: Worth, Security, and Fullness of life.
Colossians 2:10 states that:
“in Christ, you have been brought to fullness.” A reminder that Jesus is not something we add to our otherwise empty identity;
He is someone on whom we build our lives and from which every good thing flows. In Christ, we are unburdened and unhindered by external validation or internal merit.
Christ says “stop comparing yourself or allowing other people’s unfair or unjust comparisons to characterize you.” Instead, He invites you “come to me and discover that you are worthy of my love.” Christ says “don’t look for refuge or purpose in the things, roles, or relationships of this world.” Instead, He implores you “come to me and find real peace and safety from the darkness of the world.” Christ says “Nowhere else and no one else can give you what you need.” “So hear my voice, come to Me, and find all you need and all you can be in Me.”
The third part of this series is called Tuned IN: Grumbling & Gratitude.
