Many people with mental illness struggle with what I call a loss of identity. We tend not to know who or what we are about. It is for this reason that we so easily fall into the trap of finding our identity in our mental illness. The reason why we do this is because our mental illness becomes such an important thing in our lives that it literally consumes us. Our lives revolve around our mental illness because everything we end up doing is about making sure we are stable. The problem with this mentality is that our identity should not be all about our mental illness. Yes, it may be a big part of our lives, and being stable does matter. However, we are much more than our mental illnesses. As Christians, our identity should be wrapped up in who we are in Christ. However, I think so many of us who struggle with mental illness fail to understand exactly what that means/The reason for this is that we never really put much thought into exactly what our identity in Christ should look like. In the Church, it is just assumed that everyone knows what it means to find our identity in Christ and so it is never elaborated on. Well, for this blog, I shall attempt to shed some light on exactly what it means to find your identity in Christ. The purpose of this blog is to give Christians some encouragement and to help Christians with mental illness truly understand that they are so much more than their illness. Once we truly understand what identity in Christ is about, we can go through life with our heads held high with confidence that the God we serve is truly on our side. The Scripture text I shall be focusing on for this blog is 1 Peter 2:9, which says,
"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you"
This is such a rich and profound text. There are quite a few applications we can take from this simple text such as who exactly we are and for what purpose we were chosen by God. I will break down each of these points into four categories: Chosen, Royal, Holy, and Purpose. At the end of this blog, I hope you will walk away with a whole new outlook on who you are in Christ. If that happens, then the purpose of this blog has been served.
Chosen
When I think about the fact that we were chosen by God, I am taken back to Paul's words in Ephesians 1:4-5. He says,
"...even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love, he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he blessed us in the Beloved"
As you can clearly see from this text, God has chosen us before He created anything in creation. This means that before He created anything, He knew you and me individually and intimately. What does it mean that the Lord chose us? It means that since the foundation of the world, we are considered holy and blameless in His sight. This means that God has literally chosen to see us as without sin. I know that seems difficult to grasp because we know our own sins all too well, but in this text, we can see that God freely chooses not to acknowledge our sins. That is a remarkable truth that we should take a moment to let sink in.
Royal
Have you ever considered yourself to be royalty before? If you have not, well, you really should start because that is exactly how the Lord sees you as a son or daughter of the Great King. In Medieval times, the royal family was treated with a special kind of dignity, respect, and honor solely because of their status in society. No one even dared to dishonor or disrespect the royal family for fear that they would be punished. The reason for this is because of the authority the royal family held. In the same way, we who belong to Christ are deserving of the same honor and respect even more than the earthly royal family ever deserved. I say this because our King is not just the Ruler over a piece of land. He is the Ruler over the entire universe. Everything in all creation belongs to Him. It is for this reason that this creation belongs to us as well because we are Christ's heirs.
Holy
What exactly does it mean to be holy? We know that the Lord tells us in Matthew 5:48 to "be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect". But, what exactly does this even mean? After all, none of us can ever claim to be literally perfect. So, to be holy simply means "to be set apart"/ What are we set apart from though? Well, The Lord answers that in John 15:18-19 when He says,
"If the world hates you, know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you"
The Lord tells us that we were chosen to be out of the world. In other words, to be holy means to be set apart from the world. Our citizenship does not belong to this world, instead, we belong to the Kingdom of Heaven.
Purpose
So what exactly is the purpose that we were chosen for in this world? What exactly does it mean to "proclaim the excellencies of him who called you into his marvelous light"? Simply put, we are called to preach the Gospel to every living soul in this world. We live in a dying world with people who do not know the Lord. We were not called to live in an isolated bubble away from society as we await His return. Instead, we are commanded to bring the good news to people all over the world. We are called ambassadors of the Kingdom. As the Lord commands us in Matthew 28:18-20,
"...All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with always to the end of the age"
Our purpose is to tell people that they have a new King and they are commanded today to repent and believe the Gospel. That is not a mere suggestion, but a literal command from the Lord. Jesus Christ is the King of every living person on this earth, whether they choose to acknowledge Him or not.
I hope that this blog helps you better understand your own identity in Christ. Our mental illnesses do not define us. They are an important part of our lives, but they are not who we are. Our identities are so much more than our mental illnesses. Thank you very much for taking the time to read my blog and may the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all!
-David Lee Chu Sarchet
Christian Mental Health Advocate
Check out the Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you"
This is such a rich and profound text. There are quite a few applications we can take from this simple text such as who exactly we are and for what purpose we were chosen by God. I will break down each of these points into four categories: Chosen, Royal, Holy, and Purpose. At the end of this blog, I hope you will walk away with a whole new outlook on who you are in Christ. If that happens, then the purpose of this blog has been served.
Chosen
When I think about the fact that we were chosen by God, I am taken back to Paul's words in Ephesians 1:4-5. He says,
"...even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love, he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he blessed us in the Beloved"
As you can clearly see from this text, God has chosen us before He created anything in creation. This means that before He created anything, He knew you and me individually and intimately. What does it mean that the Lord chose us? It means that since the foundation of the world, we are considered holy and blameless in His sight. This means that God has literally chosen to see us as without sin. I know that seems difficult to grasp because we know our own sins all too well, but in this text, we can see that God freely chooses not to acknowledge our sins. That is a remarkable truth that we should take a moment to let sink in.
Royal
Have you ever considered yourself to be royalty before? If you have not, well, you really should start because that is exactly how the Lord sees you as a son or daughter of the Great King. In Medieval times, the royal family was treated with a special kind of dignity, respect, and honor solely because of their status in society. No one even dared to dishonor or disrespect the royal family for fear that they would be punished. The reason for this is because of the authority the royal family held. In the same way, we who belong to Christ are deserving of the same honor and respect even more than the earthly royal family ever deserved. I say this because our King is not just the Ruler over a piece of land. He is the Ruler over the entire universe. Everything in all creation belongs to Him. It is for this reason that this creation belongs to us as well because we are Christ's heirs.
Holy
What exactly does it mean to be holy? We know that the Lord tells us in Matthew 5:48 to "be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect". But, what exactly does this even mean? After all, none of us can ever claim to be literally perfect. So, to be holy simply means "to be set apart"/ What are we set apart from though? Well, The Lord answers that in John 15:18-19 when He says,
"If the world hates you, know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you"
The Lord tells us that we were chosen to be out of the world. In other words, to be holy means to be set apart from the world. Our citizenship does not belong to this world, instead, we belong to the Kingdom of Heaven.
Purpose
So what exactly is the purpose that we were chosen for in this world? What exactly does it mean to "proclaim the excellencies of him who called you into his marvelous light"? Simply put, we are called to preach the Gospel to every living soul in this world. We live in a dying world with people who do not know the Lord. We were not called to live in an isolated bubble away from society as we await His return. Instead, we are commanded to bring the good news to people all over the world. We are called ambassadors of the Kingdom. As the Lord commands us in Matthew 28:18-20,
"...All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with always to the end of the age"
Our purpose is to tell people that they have a new King and they are commanded today to repent and believe the Gospel. That is not a mere suggestion, but a literal command from the Lord. Jesus Christ is the King of every living person on this earth, whether they choose to acknowledge Him or not.
I hope that this blog helps you better understand your own identity in Christ. Our mental illnesses do not define us. They are an important part of our lives, but they are not who we are. Our identities are so much more than our mental illnesses. Thank you very much for taking the time to read my blog and may the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all!
-David Lee Chu Sarchet
Christian Mental Health Advocate
Check out the Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
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