New Year: New Identity: Hidden In Christ
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‘For you died to this life and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.”-Colossians 3:3 NLT
Once we accept Christ as Savior, He holds our life. We become hidden in Christ with God, and we belong to Him always. It’s the sweetest promise of belonging as a daughter of God.
The Need to Belong
I walk into my new school, twelve years old, my parents newly divorced. I’m a bundle of nerves and excitement. My mom needed to leave my dad because he chooses the bottle of whiskey over us. It’s a relief to be out from under the tyranny of it all. As an underdeveloped 12-year-old with a pixie, I know I’m not going to win any popularity contest, for sure. Navigating the new school is a challenge. I didn’t know living in a trailer court was a bad thing. I naively thought it was fun to have friends close by if you wanted someone to hang out with.
I quickly learned not to tell anyone about my address at the trailer court after the first reaction I received. Disgust. It was written all over her face as I tell her where I live. This moment is where I first learn to pretend; put up the facade then no one will know how disgusting I am. It wouldn’t take long before I understood the term, “trailer trash.” Be nice, be kind, but don’t tell anyone where you live. Shame has been my companion for a while already. I just want to belong.
This need to belong, to have a place, is a universal need. Sometimes we like to convince ourselves life would be easier alone. We resort to this thinking often when we’ve been hurt. Being alone leads us to self-reliance, the opposite of what Christ requires. He is delighted when we depend on Him alone.
The passage in Colossians 3:3 has a most profound phrase. It says “we are hidden in Christ, in God.” It means we belong to Christ forever. We are His and are our life belongs to Him. We don’t need the approval of man, because we have the approval of Christ.
God Will Not Reject Us
He will not reject us, He will not be disgusted with us. He won’t leave us alone or abandoned. Being hidden in Christ means we are safe and sheltered from the cruel words of others. We have complete acceptance in Christ. Not because of anything we do, but because of His goodness and love. What Christ says about us matters most. We tune our hearts to His voice and revel in belonging to Him. His voice is heard most clearly by reading the Word.
When you are hidden in Christ you never have to wonder if you belong again. Isn’t that the most comforting thought?
Dear Papa, What a wonderful thought to know that I’m hidden in Christ, in God. I belong to Him forever and I don’t have to feel like an outsider or worried about other people’s approval. I’m so thankful to have your complete approval. When I’m tempted to feel disapproval help me to remind myself of the truth. Help me to walk in this truth, to understand in my bones that I belong to You. Amen.
Still, struggling?
Maybe this will help.
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