Guest Author - Jenna Robinson
Do you know who you are inside? There seems to be a problem with people having the self confidence that comes with knowing who you are. What does that mean? Usually, self esteem issues are grown out of by the time a person grows up. It’s only a problem during the teen years or for those who have not had the same up bringing with two parents.
Knowing who we are is imperative to living a full life. It’s what we try to teach our children by instilling in them a sense of their background and our principles and values. But as the time of Jesus’ return gets closer the attacks on our minds grows stronger. Our kids today are in a greater battle than we ever were. Everyone has heard of Columbine and now even in Germany kids are under fire. Gang violence is out of control in most places. It is spreading to places that we don’t even associate with gangs and urban violence.
The Bible teaches us that when we are born again we are adopted into the family of God. He is our Father and Jesus is our brother. It also teaches us that we enter into a battle when we accept Jesus as Lord. But do we have the confidence we need to fight this battle? Are we sure that God is all powerful and in control of every situation? Or are we just paying lip service to these truths because deep down we just want to belong. Has our self esteem been so undermined that even Christians are succumbing to peer pressure?
Where does the confidence come from? It comes from Jesus’ death on the cross. It comes from the silence before and the silence after. Jesus was silent when approaching the cross. He knew the outcome of the battle was victory for God and defeat for the Devil. Satan knows this too and he is going to try to take as many of us with him as he can. The fact that the end is coming soon only makes him more anxious to convince us that God is a myth. That’s why we have so many lost people running around trying to tell us that all religions are based on the same thing. That it’s just a matter of perspective; like the blind men and the elephant story.
Our confidence also comes from Jesus’ resurrection. With out the resurrection, Christianity would have just fizzled out. It was the hope in the life after death that Christianity is built on. Jesus didn’t just talk a good game but he fulfilled exactly what he was saying. He said He would be raised after three days, and He was. It was the ultimate act of consistency. Say what you mean and mean what you say. We are children of God. He created us and before we were born He knew us. If even the birds do not worry, then why do we? Does God not love the birds? Then how much more does He love His children? He has numbered our days and knows the number of hairs on our head. How intimate is that? We go around hiding our bald spot and our wrinkles, some of us better than others, we try to appear to be something more than we are. God knows us intimately.
Can we have confidence in that relationship? YES. We have the greatest warrior on our side. How can we fail? How can we falter? Remember what Paul says “Who can be against us when God is for us?” Who are we? We are the beloved, the children the legacy of the Father God in Heaven. Ruler of Heaven and earth. The Lord of Lords, the King of Kings.
