We Don't Know Who We Are Anymore

Via Flickr CC: Ashley Pollak

It used to be a huge shocker when a celebrity came out of the closet and announced that they were gay. I remember as a little kid, hearing that Rosie O'Donnell was gay and trying to understand what that meant. Whole episodes of talk shows and the front pages of magazines would be devoted to their announcement.

The identity crisis

Now, it's old hat. We expect any guy who likes drinking tea and fashion to declare that he's attracted to men. No one is surprised when they find out a celebrity is gay. There's usually no big announcement, no fanfare, just quiet acceptance of the fact.

So what happened? Why are women turning into men, why are men dressing as women and using the women's restrooms? Why are we a culture that celebrates transgender, transrace, and even transpecies now?

Trusting in our own hearts

The human mind is a complex thing, and our emotions can be even more so. With such a wide culture of acceptance, I do believe that men who happen to like "women's" activities, and vice versa, can feel pressured into just saying they're gay. If everyone else thinks you are, then that's who you must be, right?

Truth in our culture is now subjective. There is no hard right or wrong, and there are no hard facts. Whatever you feel to be true for you, is your truth. This blurring of lines not only causes an ethical dilemma for many wading through it, but it's a telltale sign that we as a culture have lost our identity.

You want to be a dog? Good for you. You want to leave your wife and 7 kids to spend your days coloring as a little girl? Go for it. You want to be an activist for your black family? It doesn't matter that you were born white. The disturbing thing is, that all of these are true stories.

Where do you come from?

It comes down to your perspective of origins. If we believe that we evolved out of nothing, we're worth nothing in the grand scheme of things, and all that matters is the little joy we can scratch out of our existence, then that changes how we see life.

I'm not saying that non-Christians can't be happy, or don't celebrate successes. Some do, some don't. But if you ask them to do some honest to God soul searching, their reality looks pretty empty. One atheist told me that there's always hope in hope. He doesn't know what there is to hope for, but he still has hope, really in nothing.

Your identity

As a Christian, I don't have to wonder about who I am. I don't have to go find myself and discover my identity. I already know who I am, because God told me who I am.

I am a child of God

I have the joy of the Lord

I am the bride of Christ

I am a sinner, washed clean and sanctified

I am a wife under the authority of her husband (that ones hard for me sometimes!)

I am loved by the God of the universe

I am created in God's image

If we believe God's word, really truly deep down have faith in it, then we have to believe that we are who he says we are. Now I'm not going to get into Sodom and Gomorra, or all the verses about homosexuality in the Bible. Not because they aren't important, they are, but the other issue that we don't seem to be addressing is this:

Do you believe that you are who God says you are?

You may not think you're a woman trapped in a man's body, but do you think you're so dirty you can't be sanctified? Do you believe you've been healed by his stripes and blessed to live a life of abundance, or is God's healing and abundance for other people? Do you believe that you've been given a spirit of power. of love. and of a sound mind, or do you live in worry?

How precious is it that we don't have to wonder who we are! We only have to claim the promises and live in obedience to experience our awesome, life changing destiny. We DO matter in the grand scheme of things. We have a plan and a purpose that will matter for all eternity. We matter.

Some in our culture have found a false identity in what their emotions are telling them is true. You don't have to be gay to be missing your identity, but by God's grace you don't have to stay that way.

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