"Who" is More Important Than "Do"
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. II Corinthians 5:17 (KJV)
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. II Corinthians 5:21 (KJV)
Who you are is who God made you to be: a new creation, a righteous child of God. What you do is how you live out who God made you.
When we do or say wrong things or when we make mistakes, we’re still God’s child. That’s who we are and Whose we are. Don’t let your mistakes or missteps make you feel bad. Don’t allow your weaknesses and failures to define who you are. You are right inside even though you don’t always do right on the outside. I’m not talking about willful, repetitive sin- a lifestyle of sin. I’m talking about someone who is living for Jesus the best they can and they mess up. We all drop the ball at times, especially when we’re tired, have a lack of knowledge, or we’re immature.
Our identity is in Christ. We must identify who Christ is in us and who He has made us to be inside. As we do, our outer struggles will become less and less.
Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6 (New International Version, NIV)
So, don’t be so hard on yourself. Don’t give up on yourself or give up on life. We are all a work in progress. Everything we go through is part of the process of making us more and more like Christ. None of us has arrived, but we’re making progress as long as we don’t give up.
For he knew all about us before we were born and he destined us from the beginning to share the likeness of his Son. This means the Son is the oldest among a vast family of brothers and sisters who will become just like him. Having determined our destiny ahead of time, he called us to himself and transferred his perfect righteousness to everyone he called. And those who possess his perfect righteousness he co-glorified with his Son! Romans 8:29-30 (The Passion Translation, TPT)
We are becoming who we truly are on the inside. As we live out who we are inwardly and bring it into our outward lives, we’re manifesting our true identity- sons (and daughters) of God. We are more than what we do; we are learning to just be.
For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. Romans 8:19 (New International Version, NIV)
