What Defines You?

          A few weeks ago I mentioned that our Loudoun FCA staff is now in ministry planning mode for the upcoming school year.  This includes goal setting as well as event planning – huddle leader trainings, our upcoming Golf Tournament (September 25), See You at the Pole (September 26) and Fieldsof Faith (October 10).  In addition to all of this, I’ve taken on the task of developing some lessons for our huddles to use to kick off the school year.  This not only takes some of the pressure off of our leaders to come up with huddle plans while they’re still adjusting to being back in school, but it also ensures that our students are on the same page when it comes to things like gospel clarity. 

            One of the “lessons” I’ve been working on today has to do with identity.  This is such a crucial issue for middle and high school students, as they all try to figure out who they are.  The world is going to throw a lot of junk at kids throughout the seven years they spend in middle and high school, so instead of being yet another voice telling them who they should be, I want to point them to who the Bible says they already are. 

            At this age, so many students try to find their worth in their grades.  I know I did.  But the problem with this is that sooner or later, there is going to be some subject in school – whether it’s geometry in high school or Organic Chemistry in college or something in between – that gives a student a run for his or her money.  Then what?  If they continue to put their worth in their grades, all of a sudden, they’re not worth too much anymore.

            Other students try to define themselves by the sports they play and their athletic achievement.  That might work out for a while too – until the student gets benched, cut, or injured.  Then what? 

            If a student doesn’t try to define him or herself by grades or athletic achievements, he or she might try looks or other people’s opinions.  These things too, though are suck a fickle trap – promising to offer us contentment but coming up short every time. 

            So, in light of this, I been spending some time in Scripture trying to plainly organize a resource for students to see who they are in Christ.  Here’s what I’ve come up with so far:

Without Jesus	With Jesus
Dead – Ephesians 2:1-2a “Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world.” Romans 6:23a – “For the wages of sin is death…”	Alive – Ephesians 2:4-5 “But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!).” Romans 6:23b – “but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
In bondage – John 8:34 “Jesus replied, ‘Truly, truly, I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.’”	Free – Galatians 5:1 “So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.”
Condemned – Psalm 130:3 – “If you, Lord, kept a record of sins,     Lord, who could stand?”	Justified/Forgiven – Psalm 130:4 – “But with you there is forgiveness,     so that we can, with reverence, serve you.” Colossians 2:14 “He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.
Separated from God – Isaiah 59:2 “It’s your sins that have cut you off from God.     Because of your sins, he has turned away     and will not listen anymore.”	Reconciled to God – Ephesians 2:13 “But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.
God’s Enemy – James 4:4 “Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.	God’s Child – 1 John 3:1 “See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!”

I don’t have a seminary degree and I am by no means an accomplished theologian, but thankfully, I don’t have to be to understand the Bible.  If I am willing to spend time with God each day, He is more than willing to teach me more about Himself.  My prayer for this school year is that students who come to FCA (or even friends of students who come to FCA) will begin to understand the freedom that comes from putting our identity in the work of Jesus on the Cross – because this work is already finished!