GRACE AND PERSONAL IDENTITY
Starting at the back of the line,the area of personal identity is a place where the rubber of grace meets the road of everyday life in an especially palpable way. If an identity is based on "works of the law",what might one base in the one way love of God? For an answer we need to look no further than the apostle paul,who once wrote a letter not too dissimilar from what we can call "works of the law"
"If anyone thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh,i have more;circumcised on the eighth day,of the people of israel,of the tribe of benjamin,a Hebrew of Hebrews;as to the law,a pharisee;as to zeal,a persecutor of the church;as to righteousness under the law,blameless."(Phil.3:4-6)
Paul, it would seem had plenty to be proud of , His pedigree,his track record,his religious standing were all impeccable. If he had wanted to justify his existence,he would have had a comparably solid basis on which to do so-----the first-century jewish equivalent of blue blood,ivy league,fortune 500 status. But paul doesnt end there.or you might say thats exactly where he ends:
"But whatever gain i had,i counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed,i count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake i have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish,in order that i may gain Christ and be found in him. Not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law,but that which comes through faith in Christ. The righteousness from God that depends on faith."(Phil.3:7-9)
The contrast paul makes here is between a "righteousness of my own that comes from the law" and "the righteousness from God that depends on faith [in Christ]." One is earned,and the other is bestowed,or you might say one is a paycheck while the other is a gift. One is based on our efforts and attributes;the other is based on God's.
An identity based in the one-way love of God does not take into account public opinion or,thankfully, even personal opinion. It is a gift from someone who is not you. Let me say that God is not waiting for us to do something in order to unlock His love. The Gospel declares that in Christ, we already are everything we need to be. His righteousness has been imputed to us, just as our sin was imputed to him, and as a result we are "found in him."
We have been given a worth and purpose and security and significance,next to which the things of this world are revealed to be transitory at best. What more could we possibly want or need?.
Until next time, UPVOTE RESTEEM FOLLOW.