Meditation

Read Galatians 3:23-29

In Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith.—Galatians 3:26 (NIV)

During a recent job interview, I was asked to draw an identity wheel—a pie chart depicting the importance I place on my social identities. After I completed the wheel, I looked at how my gender, race, socioeconomic status, education, religion, country of origin, age, family structure, and physical ability shape and define who I consider myself to be. I realized how much I conduct my life according to these identities. Then I asked myself, Where does Christ fit in? What if I leave no space for Christ to fill?

I don’t think we need to renounce our social identities. After all, Paul didn’t deny the reality of being a Jew or Gentile, male or female. He simply said that we should act as God’s children all the time, under all circumstances, no matter what our social identities are. We can clothe ourselves with Christ through the presence and guidance of the Holy Spirit, so that our way of living, our thoughts, our decisions, and our actions demonstrate our identity as children of God.

Prayer: Dear God, help us always to show through our actions that we are your children. Amen.

Thought for the day: How will I show my identity as a child of God today?

—Luis David Arias, Colombia