Identity theft…is as new as the I-Phone 6. In the Front 9 of my life it was something you rarely heard about but in the Back 9 it has become commonplace. I’m not sure if it is 911 or identity theft or both but because Bill, my husband, is William Brewer Bradshaw, and our oldest son is William Brewer Bradshaw, Jr., it causes havoc when we travel. The airlines are skeptical and sometimes when we try to book flights, it will throw the second name out of the computer and won’t book two tickets on the same flight. It can be so annoying and frustrating.
So a little encouragement here: in the year 2015, if you are naming your children, beware–times have changed. Identical naming can be a real issue of confusion in today’s world. It makes me think about what significance/value a name may have. Your name is a great thing but it really isn’t your identity.
Whether you have the same name or not, there is a point in life when we all ask the question “Who am I?” David certainly did. “Who am I Lord, and what is my family that you have brought me this far?” (2 Samuel 7:18) It is a great question to ask. But even more important than the question is who do we direct the question to? Too many times we look for the answer to that question from others–our parents, our spouse, our friends, etc. These people can tell us things like your identity is in your name….your job….your success….your wealth….your degrees……your position. False……a BIG NOT!!
Who we direct that very important question to has everything to do with the significance of our lives and our TRUE IDENTITY. Oftentimes we find ourselves being strangers to ourselves….because the question has been directed to the wrong person. We then get a shallow answer, thus, leading to shallow lives.
IF you want to discover your destiny, your created purpose and fulfill it, you’ve got to spend time in the presence of God.
There is no alternative.
No one can set you on your created path like the Creator Himself.
Isaiah 43:7, “‘everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.’”
It is only when you seek God that you will find yourself. And if you find yourself outside a relationship with your Designer, it will lead to a case of mistaken identity!
Too often we all buy the lie that others can show us the way! When I look at our three children, even though they have the same parents and the same last name, they are all three very different with their own uniqueness. My love for them is unique to them and so it is with me/you with God. He loves us each uniquely. WE are unique to Him…created in Him to do good works. Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” When we seek to self discover it can lead to only one of two places….self-worship or worship of God.
I encourage you today–no matter what “hole” in life you are on, seeking your identity in Christ will put you in the right fairway, in the perfect position to “execute” your next shot to fulfill your created purpose. Even if you look back at your family, grandparents and beyond, and the legacy is not one you would want to live, lead or pass on, God is greater than that legacy. Maybe your family lived in the “rough” and their shots went from one hazard to another. Your Creator is the one who can redirect…and change that legacy.
Understand, on the day of judgement when He calls you by name, it is your birth and thereafter for which you are responsible. That is the scorecard you will sign–the legacy you choose to live and lead and pass on. You will not sign your parent’s scorecard. Everyone has their own scorecard based on the shots they take!
You cannot read the Bible and not see all the different legacies and created purposes that people either fulfilled or missed… and the different legacies they left behind.
Exodus 9:16, ” ‘But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.'”
So ask yourself today…Who am I? What hole am I on? Am I even on the right “course”?
Don’t live a life of mistaken identity…the kind of confusion that can be created when you allow yourself or others to define you. But direct the question to God. Allow Him to show you your uniqueness and your created purpose. Allow Him to define you…and your destiny, thus, your legacy. It is there you will find your significance.
Isaiah 43:1, “But now, this is what the Lord says—he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: ‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.'”