A Model of Identity
“Jesus replied, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.’” - John 6:35
Have you ever been in a relationship where your value to another person is predicated on what and how much you do? It might be how well you cook, whether you clean the house, what kind of job you have, or whether you are able to provide a certain kind of lifestyle.
We see in John 6 Jesus modeling for us that when you are secure in yourself, you don’t need an external source of validation to substantiate your sense of self or how to relate to people. Secure people feel no need to feed into the performance-driven culture in which we live where what you do drives people’s perception of who you are.
I met a guy recently for the first time, and he spent the entire time telling me about the important meetings he had, the projects he was working on, the social circles he runs in, and the people he knows as if those things validated him. I’m not interested in what you do. I’m more interested in who you are.
Jesus liberated Himself, and He’s trying to liberate us from the performativity of identity. You know, the sense that you have to prove your worthiness to people before they will accept you? It’s the sense that you’ve got to get another degree, get another promotion, join the fraternity, join the sorority, perform another task, get more letters behind your name, purchase another house, another bag, another car, have another child, get married again, and make more money in order to feel better and to impress other people.
Jesus’ response that “I am the bread of life,” is a radical stance in a world where what you do is how people judge you. And Jesus is saying, “I know who I am; and because I know who I am, I have already done enough. I am not going to spend the rest of my days trying to prove who I am to you, because if I do that, it is going to distract me from my purpose.”
Jesus modeled for us what our identity should look like. Is this how you see your identity? Or are you caught in the rat race of trying to impress others? Are you exhausted? If so, maybe it’s time to let that life go. God has a far greater purpose for you! Let go of that, so you can find what really matters.
Have you ever been in a relationship where your value to another person is predicated on what and how much you do? It might be how well you cook, whether you clean the house, what kind of job you have, or whether you are able to provide a certain kind of lifestyle.
We see in John 6 Jesus modeling for us that when you are secure in yourself, you don’t need an external source of validation to substantiate your sense of self or how to relate to people. Secure people feel no need to feed into the performance-driven culture in which we live where what you do drives people’s perception of who you are.
I met a guy recently for the first time, and he spent the entire time telling me about the important meetings he had, the projects he was working on, the social circles he runs in, and the people he knows as if those things validated him. I’m not interested in what you do. I’m more interested in who you are.
Jesus liberated Himself, and He’s trying to liberate us from the performativity of identity. You know, the sense that you have to prove your worthiness to people before they will accept you? It’s the sense that you’ve got to get another degree, get another promotion, join the fraternity, join the sorority, perform another task, get more letters behind your name, purchase another house, another bag, another car, have another child, get married again, and make more money in order to feel better and to impress other people.
Jesus’ response that “I am the bread of life,” is a radical stance in a world where what you do is how people judge you. And Jesus is saying, “I know who I am; and because I know who I am, I have already done enough. I am not going to spend the rest of my days trying to prove who I am to you, because if I do that, it is going to distract me from my purpose.”
Jesus modeled for us what our identity should look like. Is this how you see your identity? Or are you caught in the rat race of trying to impress others? Are you exhausted? If so, maybe it’s time to let that life go. God has a far greater purpose for you! Let go of that, so you can find what really matters.
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