What is the Truest Thing About You?

This devotional goes along with a step-by-step tutorial you can find here: How to Decorate Any Console Table Like A Pro

Seeing the family photos on my own entry table reminds me of when my daughter Morgan became interested in our family ancestry. As a result, we sent away for our ancestry.com results. 

I informed her that my side of the family was mostly German, which is why my parents spelled my name with an “i” as it is the German spelling of “Karin.” 

After waiting a couple of weeks, we received the results only to find out that I actually did not have German ancestors.  In fact, most of my family tree was actually English!

It just goes to show that you can be wrong about what you are convinced are the most salient facts about your identity. 

There are several defining factors that form our identity – our experiences, our genes, where we were born, our personal preferences, our taste in music, and our favorite color just to name a few. 

But what is the TRUEST thing about us? What is the one thing that takes priority over all of our other personality traits and characteristics?

To answer this question I had to better define the word “true”.  According to the dictionary, “true” can be defined as “accurate, exact or honest”.

The most accurate, exact and honest thing about us is that we are dearly loved and treasured by our Creator.  And when we are able to see ourselves the way He does, our earthly insecurities wash away.

Did you know that the fact that you are intensely loved by God surpasses all other truths about you?

In Thessalonians 1 Paul writes, “For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you because our Gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction.”

The Greek word for “loved by God” (or “beloved” in several translations) is a phrase Jews applied only to supremely great men like Solomon or Moses.  Therefore, the title of the greatest men of God’s chosen people is also bestowed on us.

In Galatians 3:27, it says that we are “known by God.”  He knows us not from afar but as the center of his divine attention.

The price God paid for our new standing before Him is astronomical – the blood of His Son Jesus. 

But through the sacrifice of Jesus, God no longer looks at us and sees a record of wrongs.  When God looks at us, He sees His beloved children whose slates are wiped completely clean.

There was a time I inadvertently imagined God with a plastic ruler waiting to slap my hand whenever I sinned.  But that couldn’t be further from the truth.  Instead, God doesn’t want us to sin because it hurts our relationship with Him and it harms us.

Whether you are struggling with your own securities, hurts from the past or rejections, God has already said that you are His and you belong.

Knowing that we are outrageously loved by the Creator of the universe changes how we perceive ourselves and we have a natural desire to follow Him and His Word

We can rest in knowing that God really does mean it when He says that He will work all things for our good (Romans 8:28) and any suffering we have to endure will not be wasted.   And in the meantime, when things are hard, He weeps along with us.

Because of His great love for us, we can trust him to carry our burdens because as His beloved daughters and sons, He genuinely wants to carry our worries, hurts, and concerns. (Matthew 11:29-30)

We have the freedom to be more compassionate and gentle with ourselves because we are deeply loved by God.  We no longer have to be hard on ourselves because if God is not putting unnecessary demands on us, why should we?

Each of us has an identity.  But when you come to a saving relationship with Christ, the truth that you are outrageously loved by your Heavenly Father is priority over every other aspect of your identity.

What are the implications in your own life knowing that the truest part of your identity is that you are loved by God?  How does it change the way you live?

How to Decorate Any Console Table Like A Pro