One of my first blogs was titled, "Identity Crisis" and it was pretty much a glimpse of my early teenage life, showing the different masks that I had put on myself by making up stories just to be accepted. It also told of the chaos that it had caused me. I have not fully recovered from that, but that is not the reason for me writing this time.
Christians are in an Identity Crisis. I am not alone where the things of this world are just too much to handle. We all fall into our temptations from time to time.
Earlier this year, I was assigned to lead evening devotionals during a mission trip with the youth group I attend. Struggling to find something to talk about, I decided to look over "Identity Crisis" once more. That led me to a search of "Identity in Christ." One thing that kept reminding me of my theology teacher over and over was regarding how Paul was not afraid to let people know who he represented by introducing every letter with something along the lines of, "I am Paul, apostle of Jesus Christ, and this is a letter to the people in..." In fact, the authors of most of the letters in the Bible begin along those lines.
If you were to say something like that in an email or in person, you'd either have someone on the receiving end feeling all awkward or even laughing and saying, "No one talks like that anymore" or "Who cares?"
Christians have been really shut out of the world today. There are Christians in countries around the world who have to hide because of their faith. If they are discovered proclaiming Christ, they could be killed, imprisoned, abused, or tortured.
Back in biblical times, it was just as bad. In some cases, it may have been even worse. But in America, a country where we have so many freedoms, we are sometimes the most silent about our faith. Statistics in 2012 showed that out of the percent of people in America that were "registered" or "counted" as Christian, only 8% of them were church-going/Bible-believing/evangelical Christians. Don't let that be the case with you.
There are a few things that I want to state before I sign off:
So I encourage you, don't be afraid to share your faith with anyone. Just because someone says negative things about your beliefs on a video and they get millions of views on YouTube, that doesn't give them power over you.
Stay unashamed (Romans 1:16), and stay proud of your faith in Christ. Use your identity wisely, as well as your gifts.
—Sparky
Sparky was a 16-year-old attending a private high school when he wrote this. A childhood injury limits his abilities, but God has used it to focus him onto His will. Sparky is a writer/poet and novelist. He's also a technology expert and loves to get into God's Word. Through many pains, addictions, and depression, God has saved him. He's thankful to be His servant forever.
