Who Am I?
Entering the crowded room, I felt my heart pumping. Wiping my sweaty palms on my pants for fear they would put people off. Here in a room full of my peers, I hoped to make meaningful connections. Battling the fear of rejection, I began to speak with women who might help me.
I realized I wanted more than anything to be accepted into this group. Their opinion of me towered in my mind, causing me to second guess what to say and how to say it. But then I remembered who I was and who accepted me unconditionally and peace eased my anxiousness.
As His child, I serve Him out of love, not in search of acceptance. Our adoption as His child implies acceptance into His family, no matter what. I am a child of God. Nothing I can do can change that fact, and we can never be disowned or refused the rights of this divine adoption.
Yes, you have rights.
John 1:12 states we have been given the right to God’s family when we believe on him. It says “But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12 NLT, emphasis mine). When you believe, God accepts and adopts you as a family member; your imperfections do not disqualify you, but you trade your debt of sin for the rights of being God’s own family member.
When I read John 1:12, I sense the Holy Spirit penetrating my being, and He whispers, “It is your right to grasp. Share it. Because it is their right, too.”
So, I did a bit of study on this word, right, and when I found it in Strong’s Concordance1, I learned it is multi-faceted, with a deeper meaning than I originally thought. It means privilege, force, capacity, competency, freedom, mastery, delegated influence, authority, jurisdiction, power, right, strength. See what I mean? It’s a huge word!
Let’s look at each of those words associated with right and seek the deep truth behind this word exousia. Read the following paragraph, take time to search the Scriptures, and let each word sink into your spirit. Do you believe these things about yourself? If you have a relationship with Jesus then you have been given—you have the rights—to each one.
He gives us the privilege, the gift of family. We are His children—I Peter 4:16.
We have the force necessary to change our identity, our family name—Colossians 2:9-20.
We are granted the capacity to enter His family. It is done, we are to accept the gift.
This gives us the competency to represent His family—2 Corinthians 5:20.
He empowers us with all we need through His Holy Spirit—2 Peter 1:3.
We are freed from sin to be part of His holy family—Galatians 4:5.
He forgives and forgets and empowers us to resist; temptation is present but He strengthens our resistance and we learn to overcome it. This delivers mastery over sin—Romans 6:6.
We live as eternal beings, residents of His Kingdom. We have His delegated influence and authority over darkness in this world—I Peter 2:9.
The power to speak life is ours, in Jesus’ name, thus we have jurisdiction that comes with His Kingdom. We have authority over evil—Ephesians 6:12.
We have the power necessary to remain in His family. Nothing is
strong enough to remove us from God’s family, except our own free will—John 10:28.
We have the right to be called His child. He has given us His name—Christian. He strengthens us to continue in faith as His child—Philippians 4:13.
Did you get all that?
Now go back and re-read each statement, but this time, say your name with the word “has” in each sentence. For example, for the first one I would say, “Leslie has the privilege, the gift of family. Leslie is His child.”
No, seriously…go do it.
The depth here is overwhelming! How do you respond to the magnitude of this gift of adoption and its rights? It is a personal promise; your response is to trust Him no matter the circumstance. He is there; rely on Him when you step out in faith. Live as His child. That is your response.
The Message Bible sums it up beautifully. “Who believe he was who he claimed and would do what he said, He made them to be their true selves, their child-of-God selves” (John 1:12 MSG). All the lies heaped on you through circumstances and hurtful people are washed away. You are not what they said. You are who God says you are, and He has given you that right. Doubt is not welcome in the home of God’s child.
Your confidence is rooted in your identity. When you know who you are, you are ready to move on and help others know who they are.
