The Role You Play In Life Is NOT Your Identity! … Good morning Hump Day Readers. I hope this new month of May is like the quote from Fennel Hudson: “May, more than any other month of the year, wants us to feel alive.” As kids from northern cold-Wisconsin, we learned quickly that May is still cold, with snow, sleet and hail, and the lake was frozen often until the middle of May! I share this May quote because it’s like my devotion today, a description that is not quite spot-on.

One of my favorite female writers and Bible teacher is Christine Caine. I had an opportunity to meet her several years ago at a women’s conference in Houston. She was talking about identity and the roles we play in our lives. It was powerful as she shared living in an abusive home. I was glued to her presentation. So, the other day she let me know about her mum’s (she from Australia so mom is mum) 70th birthday party and told me she made a devotion out of it. With her permission I share:

“It was my mother’s 70th birthday party. Within a few hours, I was characterized by different people in a variety of ways. To one, I was my mom’s only daughter; to another, I was Nick’s wife; to another, I was Catherine and Sophia’s mom; to another, I was George’s sister; to another, plus me being the one who ‘got religion’. Now, let’s take a step back. While it’s true the way someone identifies me may be a legitimate aspect of the various roles I fulfill in life, none of these roles are who I really am.”

Her devotion really had me thinking about roles and identities. Are we defined by the roles we play? I don’t think so because we change all the time. I started my career in medicine, then music, then ministry and so on. Each one still plays a role in my life but what is my true identity? It is not determined by what I do, because my identity is in Christ my Savior. So that says there is no singular role that defines me.

Christine says it this way, “If we allow ourselves to be defined by our roles instead of allowing who we truly are in Christ to define our roles, we’re going to get messed up! No singular role completely defines us. In other words, who you are is not determined by what you do.”

If we try to get our identity, significance, and security from the roles we play, ultimately our lives become focused upon our functionality and doing more, rather than something deeper. The question we need to ask ourselves is this: When no one is calling us parent, spouse, sibling, mentor, boss, or friend, what is left?

*In Isaiah 43:1 (ESV) we have an identity confirmation: “I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”

*In Jeremiah 1:5 (Message) God says “Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you. Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you…”

*In John 15:16 (ESV) we hear the blessed words of Jesus saying to us: “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.”

So why are we still defining ourselves by the roles we play rather than our identity in Christ? This is important and we must take it to heart because—how we look at this impacts our character and our lives every day. Ever been fired from a job, feel failure in raising a prodigal child, or…let’s face it—the stuff of life doesn’t always go the way we want it to. Those are the roles we will play until we go home to Jesus. But the good news is that these roles have never been and never will be about our identity!

Let’s change our perspective and revel in the life we have in the strength and grace of God, who, long before we were born, adopted us into his family. We bear God’s image and our identity in God’s Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, is who we are, period. When you waver from this, don’t question yourself “who am I and why is this happening?” Instead, remind yourself whose you belong to—the living God who created you and will never let you go! I think that calls for an Hallelujah-Amen, don’t you? AMEN!