Today’s AMI QT Devotional was first posted on December 11, 2014 by an anonymous writer.
Devotional Thought for This Morning
The Peril of a False Identity
Proverbs 22:2
“The rich and the poor meet together; the Lord is the maker of them all.”
Poverty isn’t just about a lack of resources, but it is also a belief in a false identity. Growing up poor has been one of the major influences in how I viewed myself and how I related with those around me. It wasn’t just a comparison in material goods and opportunities, but the constant feeling of lack led me to believe that who I was, was insufficient; and that God’s love for me was insufficient in comparison to those around me. This broken comparison continued even when situations were more financially stable.
What broke this curse over my identity was the slow agreement with the truth that my worth is not based on my situations and circumstances. Rather, it was the love of God who created me. This is one of the foundational truths of God that we know but find difficult to accept. We’re geared to define ourselves in accordance with our surroundings, which makes it difficult to take a conceptual truth and make it into our reality. In our own struggles with this, it seems more common to agree with how empty our pockets are instead of the full heavenly treasures of God’s love for us.
This is why it is important for us as the body of Christ to make our identity in Christ, the wonderfully made creations of God, the forefront of our relationship and interactions. In this Proverb, both the rich and poor come together with their identity in light of the Lord as their commonality. We are called to step over and erase the real dividing line of the haves and the have nots so that our true identity as sons and daughters can take center stage.
What is your identity? Do you identify with your lack of the world’s goods more than how your heavenly Father views you? If you do have resources, are you willing to cross the line and love in deeds and truth?
Prayer: Father, thank you that my identity is not defined by what I have or lack. I pray that I would remain confident in who I am in you. Lord, as you pour out your blessing to me, use me to bless others that they would be able to stand confident in you as well.
Bible Reading for Today: Revelation 14
Lunch Break Study
Read 1 John 3:16-18: By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
Questions to Consider
- What is the fullness of love given to us?
- How should love be exhibited?
- What is our encouragement that enables us to love this way?
Notes
- It is Jesus laying down His life for us. He didn’t withhold anything, but gave it all.
- Love needs to be tangible. It needs to be more than good intentions.
- We are encouraged to love because God loved us first. We don’t pour out love out of emptiness, but with God’s love through Jesus poured out into our hearts.
Evening Reflection
If a co-worker or classmate were to ask you to describe yourself, how far down the list would your identity in Christ be? Would the details of your situations and circumstances precede the reality of Christ in you? Do you form relationships with others according to their identity in Christ, or their educational background, financial situations, and interests? God is reminding us that our identity is firmly planted in who He is and is calling us to receive this identity and establish it to those around us.