FINDING
OUR IDENTITY IN TROUBLESOME TIMES
Colossians
3:1-4
Many have observed that the church is going
through somewhat of an identity crisis these days. To the question, “who are
we?,” we hear many different answers. And that is a big part of the problem, we
have, at times listened more to the thinking of men than to God. Let’s take a few minutes to see what is
going on and what we can do about it.
We
Mortals Get Quite Attached To Our Own Thinking:
1. We like the
idea of being God (Gen. 3:1-5).
2. Selfishness
has always been the most popular thing going, therefore, it is the first thing
we must give up if we are to walk with God (Lk. 9:23).
3. In religion,
we humans are notorious for messing up (Matt. 15:1-9; Col. 2:20-23).
4. Like
Solomon, we tend to look “under the sun” and find “vanity” (Ecclesiastes).
5. We much more
readily follow those who come in their own name than the One who came in the
Father’s name (Jn. 5:43-44).
We
Need An “Altitude”
Adjustment:
1. We look down
amongst us when we should look upward (Col. 3:1-4).
2. Such earth-bound vision as that dooms us to
walk in darkness (Matt. 6:22-23).
3. We see the “seen”
more than the “unseen” (II Cor. 4:16-5:7).
4. We need to
look through the eyes of faith (Heb. 11:1, 27; II Cor. 5:7).
Rules
For Finding Ourselves:
1. Matthew.
10:39; 16:25; Mark. 8:35; Luke. 9:24; 17:33; John. 12:25—GET LOST!
2. Always check
out beliefs to see if they are from God
or from the traditions of men (II Tim. 2:15; cf. Matt. 7:28-29; I Jn. 4:1).
3. Make sure we
can “defend” beliefs rather than merely parroting them (I Pet. 3:15).
4. Be more
concerned with what God thinks than what people think (Matt. 10:28; Gal. 1:10).
5. Look for
purposes and principles to orient specific teachings to their proper place in
the bigger picture (Matt. 23:23-24).
6. Be involved
in more than just learning facts—though, of course, do learn facts—be involved
in doing what we learn (Jas. 1: 22-25; I Jn. 3:18).
7. Be involved
in more than just doing what we learn—though, of course, do what we learn—be
part of a transformation (Rom. 8:29; 12:1-2).
Let us look first to Jesus, not to self or
others. Let us learn that our identity is found only when we get self out of
the way and give place to God.
Edwin
6/18/00
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