Are You Having an Identity Crisis?

Gò0dNews from the Pastor’s Desk

Are You Having an Identity Crisis?

by Chris Mullis

In the movie Finding Nemo, a clown fish named Marlin goes on a frantic search and rescue mission to save his son Nemo, who was captured by a scuba diver and put in a dentist’s fish tank. Marlin meets a blue reef fish named Dory, who saw the address on the diver’s mask and knows where they took Nemo. Unfortunately, Dory has short-term memory loss. She can’t remember her name, let alone the address P. Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way, Sidney.

The plot is a clever twist on a common theme in many movies and TV shows. It’s the “Who Am I?” plot, in which a lead character has amnesia and can’t remember who they are. It’s an identity crisis. Life is not a movie, but people do have an identity crisis in real life when they don’t know they belong to God. God’s Word reminds us our identity is greater than the superficial things of this world. Our true identity is in Christ.

“You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor. And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God” (1 Peter 2:4-5).

“You are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple” (verse 5). The Holy Temple in Jerusalem was the most important place on earth to Jews in New Testament times. They believed it was where God’s Spirit dwelled on earth. Some had even come to idolize the Temple. But Jesus reminded people God’s Spirit is not confined to the Temple. In fact, people who put their faith in God through Jesus are the real residents of God’s Holy Spirit. Therefore, Christians together make up the true Holy Temple. What an honor and privilege!

Furthermore, verse 5 says, “You are his holy priests…” A priest is someone who intercedes to God on behalf of people on earth. A priest prays for people and performs religious rituals that help people find healing, wholeness, forgiveness and purification so they can reconnect and be at one with God. In the Old Testament, only one certain tribe from the twelve tribes of Israel could be priests. And even within that tribe, anyone who had a blemish or a defect was disqualified. Only perfect people could be priests. So, for example, if you were born without a finger or lost an eye in an accident, you couldn’t serve as a priest. But when we put our faith in Jesus, it is different. We are all priests of God Most High—even if we aren’t perfect—because Jesus makes us whole.

Verse 9 says, “You are a chosen people…” In the Old Testament, only Israelites were considered the chosen people. Everyone else was a Gentile. And in Jesus’ day, Jews believed only Jews were God’s chosen people. But Jesus shows us that anyone who places their faith in Christ is God’s chosen. So, we could paraphrase verse 10 to say, “Once you were nobody; now you are God’s somebody!” In Christ, everybody is somebody special. Sinners become saints. Heathens become priests. The lame are made whole. The blind can see and the deaf can hear. Those who were damned become holy. This is what it means to be Christian.

About The Author

Rev. Chris Mullis is an ordained minister of the United Methodist Church with a Masters of Divinity from Candler School of Theology at Emory University. Pastor Chris’s ministry has spanned twenty years and four different churches in Georgia. Chris is currently serving God as the senior pastor of Pleasant Grove Methodist Church located at 2701 Cleveland Hwy in Dalton, GA.