One thing I have always greatly enjoyed is taking time to admire the beauty of God’s creation. Maybe that admiration stems from my time working at a garden center and flower shop, or perhaps it’s an innate longing as a creation of God to be surrounded by His beauty eternally. Recently, to comply with my passion for flowers, I visited a flower show at Olbrich Gardens in Madison, WI called Roy G. Biv’s Rainbow Rooms. Certainly, I could dedicate an entire post to the beauty of God’s creation. Yet another post remains to be written on our cultural inclination to categorize those things around us: in this case assigning flowers and nature in accordance to their visual measurement, with respect to the light reflected by each inspired collection of molecules. But what struck me, what truly inspired me to write to you all today was a sticker I saw in the gift shop.
I knew the moment I read the words on the watering can, God was calling me to write about it. The sticker reads: “It isn’t what we say or think that defines us, but what we do,” a quote attributed to Jane Austen.
Now, Jane Austen is an incredible author, though admittedly I have yet to read any of her works, but this quote, while partially true, fails to encompass absolute truth. “The truth is powerful because it’s true,” Sadie Robertson Huff reminded us during the If: Gathering conference this time last month. She spoke on how the devil cleverly disguises his best lies by surrounding them with truths. “Oh, you overslept today? That’s true. You’re not where you wanna be in life? True. You’re worthless.” We play two truths and a lie with the enemy, instead of exercising discernment when falsities attempt to impersonate absolute truth.
The fact of the matter is as finite beings we cannot be defined by our own finite actions. We must be defined by an infinite God. It is true that we aren’t defined by our words; it is also true we aren’t defined by our thoughts. However, it is equally untrue that we are defined by our actions. Perhaps we may be identified by our actions, but they will never measure up to the work God has done to define us.
“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:12 NIV
Child of God. Maybe it’s just me, but that’s not the identifier I list within the signature of my email. That’s not my biography on my LinkedIn or my opening line in a cover letter. And to be honest, I’m not saying it should be. However, those things which indeed are listed there must be identified for what they are: secondary to our true identity in Christ.
“This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” Hebrews 8:10-12 NIV
Sister! This is good news! Our sins have been wiped clean; we are no longer defined by our actions. I remember reading this sticker and hurting for all those who might assume this quote contains absolute truth. I hurt for my neighbors, my friends, all of those around the world who don’t know Christ, and who don’t know they have a beautiful invitation to an eternally meaningful identity. As Christians, we don’t have to feel suffocated by our mistakes. We don’t have to feel trapped by the actions we have taken, or will take in the future.
Perhaps one more verse will establish the absolute truth behind our identities:
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 NIV
You don’t have to run; you don’t have to hide. God knows: where you’ve been, what you’ve said, what you’ve done. But our identity doesn’t lie in any of those things. Our identity comes from Him. He says let me tell you who you are, child of mine. He calls you beloved; He calls you chosen. He has already proven His unfailing love for you and will continue to time after time after time after time.
Let the God, who is Himself truth, define you. Trust me, after that, you won’t want anyone else’s definition.
