I’m interested in Christian identity. How does our new life in Christ change how we should think about ourselves? And how does thinking rightly about ourselves change how we live?
One excellent book on Christian identity I just finished was, Who Am I? Identity in Christ, by Jerry Bridges (Cruciform Press, 2012). A real gem in there came from a retired automobile salesman. As Bridges tells it, “[This man] had sold cars most of his adult life. At some point in that career he had trusted Christ as Savior. He said to me, ‘Before I became a Christian, I sold cars. After I became a Christian, I helped people buy cars.'” (p. 78)
I love this quote for several reasons:
- It shows how this man’s identity went from being self-focused to being others-focused.
- Bridges points out that this man realized that we can serve Christ by serving people. (p. 79)
- This nicely shows that living out our Christian identity does mean that we need to become a minister of the gospel. Instead, we can serve Christ right where we are, in any profession.
- Finally, it communicates the joy of obedience, the fact that there’s nothing to lose by serving Christ and others selflessly. Instead, you get the joy of being a blessing.
As Bridges sums it up: “Every one one of us should have an image in our minds of our real ‘business card’:”
[Your name here]
Servant of Jesus Christ
Praying that God helps us all to love like this.