A windstorm came through my town this week and knocked out the power for a half-second. My wi-fi was down for a few days and I almost lost my mind... I mean, what am I gonna do? Read a book? First world problems... So here's a nugget on Marred Identity... A thought on what it means to have our identity uprooted and planted so deep into Christ's, so entangled in Him, that we really begin believing what God says of us - that we are new...
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Marred Identity.
Perpetual and undoctored scarring left to immortalize the fact that you are broken. A nagging, ticking, monotonous, crackling voice that won’t let you forget that you are damaged goods - splayed out, exposed, and exhibited center-stage like a circus freak. When you’re broken you’re either shown off, experimented on, or thrown out.
It’s not that way with Jesus. He came with the cure for marred identity in hand. He is the salve. He is the remedy. He is the cure. To the orphan He is Father. To the spouseless He is Lover. To the restless He is Peace.
The day that Christ died humanity’s infirmity met its match. Death met Life and couldn’t do a thing to stop it. He called out to the sick of heart, the scarred and mutilated mess that had become us, and declared in one fell swoop: “It is finished!” The ground shook and when the dust settled the knotted mess of man’s marred identity unraveled at the foot of the Cross.
To the forgiven Jesus said, “Go in peace.” They did not think twice or tie a theological noose around their faith. They simply believed they were forgiven and went on living their lives as if it were true. Maybe it is in the simpleton that salvation is most secure, for they have heard God’s voice saying over them “My Child!” and they go on to live their lives in light of that blessed fact. No second-guessing. No double-takes at the grave to make sure it’s empty.
I assure you, He is not here, He is risen. So stop overthinking it. God has said “I have clothed you in garments of righteousness,” so go on and live in them. God has said, “You are a new creation,” so stop feeling around for scars of the fall where you will not find them.
So often, I want to be used by God to address the marred identity of others before I myself have fully chosen to believe that I am actually a new creation. It is the moment in which we have fully surrendered to our new identity in Christ that we have become mobilized to address the marred identity in others, and no sooner.
