Can I See Your ID?

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“If you strip away whatever it is you’re known for, whatever is left is who you are.” Bob Goff

I do love that quote by Bob Goff, but the reality of that can be frightening if you don’t know who you are, or worse—if you don’t like whatever’s left! We can’t help but seek to define ourselves. To be known for something in particular. To be seen.

We tend to hide behind our strengths and accomplishments. Wearing them like armor against anyone who might take a closer look and discover our insecurities, weaknesses, or inconsistencies. 

But our identity can’t be tied to our strengths or weaknesses because they couldn’t possibly represent us fully and they are ever-changing on top of that. A win in an area one day can become your greatest failure the next. And so before we do anything, we have to be solid in who we actually are without those things.

The clearest example I see of this in Scripture can be found in Exodus when God gave the Israelites their identity as God’s chosen people before he gave them any instructions. He rescued them from slavery in Egypt while they still looked, thought, and lived like slaves. Before they received the law at Mount Sinai, they received a position: You are my people. They belonged to God before they fully understood who he was or what it meant to follow him.

The same is true for us. We often assume that transformation earns us a place in God's family, but the Gospel tells a different story. The truest thing about you is not your struggle and it is not your success. It is not your addiction, your anxiety, your pride, your anger, or your fear. But it is not your job promotion, your personal achievements, your income, or your reputation. If you belong to Jesus, the most important thing about you is that you are a beloved child of God. Your identity is received, not achieved. 

Just a person Jesus loves

The apostle John seemed to understand this well. Rather than identifying himself by his role, accomplishments, or personality, he repeatedly referred to himself as "the disciple whom Jesus loved." That wasn't arrogance; it was security. John knew that the foundation of his identity was not what he had done for Jesus, but what Jesus had done for him.

This is where real spiritual growth begins. We don't obey in order to become God's children; we obey because we already are. Sanctification is the gradual process of growing into Christlikeness. Where we can increasingly recognize the family resemblance. Over time, our attitudes, desires, and actions begin to resemble Jesus more and more. But growth takes time. There are no shortcuts to Christlikeness. The good news is that God is patient with his children. He invites us to rest in who we already are while he faithfully shapes us into who we are becoming.

Identity in Christ is foundational. Through the highs and the lows, the only unchanging thing is who we are in Christ. Failures don’t mean as much. Neither do successes. 

The Best of Times

There are countless stories of people who lose themselves to their careers and accomplishments resulting in major life setbacks whenever those things are stripped away. Whether it’s Olympic athletes, business executives, the class valedictorian, or the employee of the month. Working towards a goal is healthy. Making that goal your ultimate purpose can be dangerous if you haven’t something to live for once you reach it.

Well-adjusted businesspeople have been known to commit suicide after retiring because it turns out they had nothing else to live for once they clocked out for the last time. Professional athletes, known for discipline, structure, and dedication to keeping their bodies in peak condition for their sport end up throwing it all away, blowing through money, experiences, and people after their career is over because they have seemingly nothing to offer if they can’t play their sport. Parents, often mothers, who make their kids their whole life find themselves disoriented once the baby starts school or goes off to college. Who was I before I had kids? 

These are hypotheticals based on real-life examples of people who have made the wrong things their whole identity. There’s a joke now about what happens when we get obsessively into a hobby, a show, an event, or an aesthetic of some kind. You may hear people say, “pickle ball is my whole personality”, or “Stranger Things is my whole personality”, “or the Artemis II mission is my whole personality”. We’ve normalized adopting a full identity around something we do, or we like, or that’s trending at the moment. But these good things shouldn’t define the core of who we are because we could lose them, and then what? If the core of who you are is grounded in Christ, this can never be lost. 

The Worst of Times

The opposite also applies. If you’ve made an irreversible mess of your life. If you’ve been hurt so deeply that the violation consumes the whole of who you are, it can be hard to imagine how you could possibly be known for anything else. The lowest lows eclipse any possible high and we seem to live at a perpetual dead end. We come to believe that for us to be accepted by God, we have to earn his trust and favor. But Scripture is clear: we don’t operate out of an earned identity, but a given identity. So even when I don’t feel loved, cherished, or worth the hassle, I am because God says I am.

The lies we believe vs. the truth of God’s Word

This is where our identity requires some intentionality. When I spend enough time listening to God through prayer and the Word, I can more easily recognize the truth that God is speaking to me over the lies the enemy is whispering. Even if my circumstances might tell a different story.

The Exodus story reminds us that freedom is often a two-part journey. First, God had to get the Israelites out of Egypt. Then he had to get Egypt out of the Israelites. Even after their rescue, they carried old habits, old fears, and old ways of thinking. They longed to go back to what was familiar, even when what was familiar had enslaved them. They resisted God's ways and struggled to trust his heart. Yet God did not abandon them in their immaturity. He patiently led them, corrected them, provided for them, and loved them into becoming the people he had already declared them to be.

In many ways, our story is the same. When we place our faith in Jesus, we are rescued in an instant, but transformation unfolds over a lifetime. We still carry remnants of our old identities. We still find ourselves drawn toward old patterns of thinking and living. We still wrestle with trusting that God's way is better than our own. But God is not surprised by any of it. Like a good Father, he patiently works in us, teaching us to live as the beloved sons and daughters we already are. The Christian life is not about striving to earn a place in God's family. It is about learning to live from the place we have already been given. Day by day, God is shaping us to look more like Jesus—not through shame or fear, but through the steady, transforming power of his love.

We started with Israel and Bob Goff so it’s fitting we end there, too.

"Quit letting who you were talk you out of who you're becoming. You are allowed to unlearn who you've been if that version of yourself no longer aligns with who you truly are or who you want to become.” Bob Goff

What’s in the Ears

This is the part where I share a song or podcast I’m currently into. Firm Foundation by Cody Carnes reflects the heart of this post really well so let me know if you check it out!

If this stirred something in you, share this post with a friend or drop a comment below. I’d love to hear what small step you’re taking towards the flourishing life today! And don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss a thing.

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