I am a Christian who has bipolar disorder. I cycle from extreme mania to pits of depression, but I am not a manic-depressive. My identity is not in my illness. My identity is in Christ.

Where do you find your identity? 

This morning my pastor shared a story of a teenage girl who had lost a sense of her she was. Like many her age, she had looked for her identity in relationships with others just as lost as she was. Her self-worth plummeted. Whatever confidence she once had crashed to the ground. She desperately needed someone to pick her up, someone to share with her the hope that was rooted in her faith. Not just some wish for better days, but a genuine hope that would hold onto her when she fell.

Somehow, she found her way to the pastor’s study. He sat quietly with her. Listened to her. Comforted her. Encouraged her. In God’s own time, he reminded her of who she was.

Who am I?

  • I am the salt of the earth. Matt 5:13
  • I am the light of the world. Matt 5:14
  • I am a child of God (John 1:12)
  • I am a part of the true vine, a channel of Christ’s life (John 15:1,5)
  • I am chosen and appointed by Christ to bear His fruit (John 15:16)
  • I am a slave of righteousness (Rom. 6:18)
  • I am enslaved to God (Rom. 6:22)
  • I am a son of God; God is spiritually my Father (Rom 8:14,15; Gal. 3:26; 4:6)
  • I am a joint heir with Christ, sharing His inheritance with Him (Romans 8:17)
  • I am a temple—a dwelling place—of God.  His Spirit and His life dwell in me. (1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19)
  • I am united to the Lord and am one spirit with Him (1 Cor. 6:17)
  • I am a member of Christ’s body (1 Cor. 12:27; Eph. 5:30)
  • I am a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17)
  • I am reconciled to God and am a minister of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18-19)
  • I am a son of God and one in Christ (Gal. 3:26,28)
  • I am an heir of God since I am a son of God (Gal. 4:6,7)
  • I am a saint (1 Cor. 1:2; Eph. 1:1; Phil. 1:1; Col. 1:2)
  • I am God’s workmanship – His handiwork – born anew in Christ to do His work. (Eph. 2:10)
  • I am a fellow citizen with the rest of God’s family (Eph. 2:19)
  • I am a prisoner of Christ (Eph. 3:1; 4:1)
  • I am righteous and holy (Eph. 4:24)
  • I am a citizen of heaven, seated in heaven right now (Eph. 2:6; Phil. 3:20)
  • I am hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3)
  • I am an expression of the life of Christ because He is my life (Col. 3:4)
  • I am chosen of God, holy and dearly loved (Col. 3:12; 1 Thess. 1:4)
  • I am a son of light and not of darkness. (1 Thess. 5:5)
  • I am a holy partaker of a heavenly calling. (Heb. 3:1)
  • I am a partaker of Christ; I share in His life. (Heb. 3:14)
  • I am one of God’s living stones, being built up in Christ as a spiritual house. (1 Peter 2:5)
  • I am a member of a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession (1 Peter 2:9-10)
  • I am an alien and stranger to this world in which I temporarily live (1 Peter 2:11)
  • I am an enemy of the devil. (1 Peter 5:8)
  • I am a child of God and I will resemble Christ when He returns. (1 John 3:1-2)
  • I am born of God, and the evil one – the devil – cannot touch me. (1 John 5:18)

I am not the great “I am” (Exod. 3:14; John 8:24, 28, 58) but by the grace of God, I am what I am (1 Cor. 15:10)

 

Where do you find your identity?

In your number of Facebook likes and shares?

In the amount of money you make?

In your grade point average or test scores?

Where do you find your identity?

In the serious illnesses you face?

In the trials you’ve suffered?

In your diagnosis/es?

 

My identity is shaped by Christ. Not by saints past and present, though I am inspired by them. Not by other Christians, though they are my brothers and sisters. Not by professing believers who may be entirely different than I am. I am in Christ.

How about you?