The Great Identity Problem: Where do we go from here?
Over the last several weeks we have looked at “The Great Identity Problem.” To summarize, the problem is simple; the problem is that people do not understand who they are or how they have been made.
We started with a simple premise. Depression and suicide rates are rising, anxiety is an epidemic among Gen-Z and there is seemingly no solution. But we stopped and made a hypothesis. What if the problem was less about the world that we live in and was more about us not understanding who we are. Rather than believing what the world tells us about our identity, what if we took our identity from God?
Scripture paints a clear picture of who we are and also of whose we are. Scripture makes clear that we belong to God! We are not only made by God; we belong to God and God loves us. Titus 3:4-5 says, “But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love for mankind appeared, he saved us—not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy—through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” We are only saved by God’s grace and we praise God because God saved us by His grace! We are truly loved by Jesus and we are his possession.
All of this matters. We have to understand what it means to be made in the image of God. It is fundamental for helping us understand what identity truly is. But as important as it is, it only matters if we do something with it. That is the point of practical theology after all. It is to take our knowledge of God (theology) and apply it practically to our lives. So how do we do this?
I want to give us three applications of this today. First, we need to be praying for our culture. We need to pray for Gen-Z and Gen-Alpha to understand who they are and whose they are. We need to lift them up to God in prayer! Our world is lost when it comes to identity and the most important thing that we can do is pray about it.
Secondly, we need to remind the people around us about their identity. When we interact with our children, grandchildren, our friends, or coworkers, we need to be prepared to talk with them about who they are and whose they are! it is not enough to hope that they understand the truth of identity; instead, we need to bring the truth to them!
Thirdly, we need to see the people around us who are struggling with identity and we need to care. It is easy for us to see people doing things that we disagree with and to have a perspective that, “it is hopeless.” But what if instead of having that outlook, we took the time to care about their eternal souls? What if we took the time to let our hearts break for them? In Matthew 9:36, Jesus feels compassion for the lost people around him so deeply that he is almost sick! We can have the same outlook on the world around us. We can love the people around us intentionally, even when we do not agree with them. We can let our hearts break for people that we meet and we can prioritize connecting them to Jesus.
Ultimately, identity is a great evangelistic opportunity. When people are struggling with identity, they are looking for answers and solutions. They want to understand the bigger questions. We have the answers and it all starts with Jesus! So, let me challenge each of us, myself included, to take this knowledge of who we are in Christ and to be quick to spread it to the world around us!
Pastor Daniel