The pervasiveness of social media boils down to one basic human need—to be popular so we feel important and loved. Likes and follows make us feel better about ourselves. But this feeling never satisfies for long. We always want more.
One thing hasn’t changed since I was in high school. Back then, I wanted to be popular, outgoing, tall, thin, and pretty. Instead, I was the short, quiet, and studious girl with straight A’s. Later, my identity came from what people thought of me or wanted me to be.
However, if our identity is in Christ, it transforms our lives and our eternity. How do we find our identity in Christ? And what does it have to do with wellness?
Sacrifice your life
Paul writes, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20 NIV).
Christ was sacrificed on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin. How do we “die” with Christ? We sacrifice our own desires and plans and yield to His. It is a daily choice to please God and do His will.
Jesus said, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 10:39 ESV).
What do we receive for surrendering our lives? Our identity in Christ. We can never be good enough on our own. His goodness became ours because He died in our place.
When we surrender our lives, our bodies become “a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God” (Romans 12:1 ESV). It pleases God when we take care of our bodies. We require strength, vitality, and stamina to serve God and other people, instead of using our bodies to get people to notice and appreciate us.
Accept your inheritance
When my mom died, my three siblings and I divided everything equally, one-quarter of the inheritance to each person.
Our inheritance from God is not divided up among all the heirs. God adopted us as His sons and daughters with full rights to everything, just as if born into the family.
The Bible says, “God sent him [Jesus] to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children” (Galatians 4:5 NLT). And we are “fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him” (Romans 8:17 ESV).
Our inheritance is the gift of salvation from sin, eternal life, and the power of the Holy Spirit. To find our new identity in Christ, we accept our inheritance as children of God.
Harness God’s power
When I did computer troubleshooting, users complained their computer was “not working.” (That could mean a lot of things.) Sometimes, I realized the monitor was unplugged. As soon as I plugged the power cord into the outlet, the screen came on.
The gift of the Holy Spirit is “the guarantee of our inheritance” (Ephesians 1:14 ESV). But we must plug into the power to receive the Holy Spirit in us. We harness the power by believing and accepting what Jesus did for us on the cross.
By harnessing God’s power, we find our identity in Christ. Only with this power can we defeat Satan’s rule in our lives.
Our wellness journey depends solely on God’s power, not our willpower. When we struggle with overcoming unhealthy habits and addictions, the Holy Spirit partners with us to overcome our struggles. But if we fail, the Holy Spirit is our Comforter.
When we find our identity in Christ, we honor our bodies as the temple of the Holy Spirit by pursuing wellness of body, mind, and spirit.
Conclusion
Who or what defines your identity? It is a daily struggle to leave your old identity behind. I will never be the tall, slender, attractive life of the party girl!
Do you scroll through social media and envy the lives of others? On Instagram, everyone else’s life looks much better than mine. When Satan tempts us to compare ourselves to others, remember God’s opinion of us is the only one that counts.
What would it look like to find your identity in Christ? Find your worth in Christ alone because He died for you. At the end of your life on earth, it’s the only thing that matters.
