We Pray to the Lord of the Harvest that
Everyone Would Be
Identifiable… (as His)
Ephesians 4:17-5:2

 † I.H.S. †

May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ reveal to you your true identity as a child of God, and empower you to live in that identity!

Who am I

I haven’t done a pastor parker’s poignant parable in a while, a real-life story that completely illustrates the lesson about Jesus, and His role in our life.

So today’s parable – the Kingdom of God is like the first day of preschool. Or the first day of college. It really doesn’t matter, for on such days, for life becomes radically different, and people are different, the order of our days are different, and even sleep patterns becomes different!

And in the middle of it all, we are unsure of ourselves, and because we lost all we have used to identify ourselves, things become crazy.

If we lost our identity, and if people don’t know who we are, we lost everything that governs our lives, and we have to re-learn who we are, and because of that, how we live.

But the Kingdom of God establishes our identity, much as the crowns given on the first day tell us (and our teacher) who we are….

Mistaken Identity

Do you remember the first day at a new school? The confusion, the lack of direction, being completely ignorant of the rules—not just the official ones of the schools, but the rules of society, the unspoken rules of the community? Or maybe it’s a new job or a new church, and there are some, well let’s say different people there.

Now hear the words of Paul, 17 With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. 18 Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him.

You are in a new place, you don’t know anything—never mind which of the voices you should listen too. So rather than listen to God, the temptation is to listen to whoever says “do whatever you want!” “do what makes sense” rather than – obey the rules.

This is noting new, the wisest man in history, King Solomon, wrote,

¹⁸  When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful.  Proverbs 29:18 (NLT2)

What would happen if a teacher walked out of the classroom for 30 minutes, or you left 40 freshman alone for a weekend at your house? Without guidance, people run wild…and some translations phrase it—they perish.

Is it no wonder why? Look at the behaviors that lack confusion brings about,

25 So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. 26 And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil.

And, 29 Don’t use foul or abusive language.

And, 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.

Notice how many of these are sins of passion, an indication of a lack of control, a lack of an identity that defines who we are, and how we behave.

He identified you as His own

Our thoughts, our words, our actions all depend on who we are, and how we identify ourselves.

No, let me restate that – it depends on whether we realize how God identifies us. The key verse in all our readings today,

Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.

When the children showed up on Monday, Elizabeth had crowns prepared for them with their name on them. The reason I made the connection to the sermon was those crowns, for when God identifies you as His child, that crown is guaranteed, for we are children of God, children of the King.

That’s what we are talking about – for once the kids are settled, once they realize that they mean the world to their teachers, they settle in, give lots of hugs and get excited to be here, where they know they are loved.

It becomes second nature to behave within the rules then. They aren’t perfect, just like their teachers aren’t. But they soon get used to the environment, they get used to the rules, because they know they are loved, they know they are known, they know they belong here.

The same is true for us, the world changes when we realize who we are, who loves us, in whose presence we belong. That’s why it ends with this…

Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. 2 Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us,

As we learn to walk with Jesus, as our hearts open up and His love pours out as we love others, everything is different in life. We are invited into this life filled with love, a love proven as Jesus paid for our sins with His blood on the cross.

He knew it was coming, he knew it would cost Him that much. And so He died for us. And it is in His death that we find out identity,

¹¹  When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature. ¹²  For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.  Colossians 2:11-12 (NLT2)

Romans talks about the same thing as we are united to Jesus in our baptism, as we are cleansed from all our sins, and we are forever made one with God, as the Holy Spirit takes up residence within us, and marks us with God’s name.

We are identified as His, and as we learn from Him, we become like Him, reflecting Hi loves and glory into this confused world.

This is who you are, children of the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. That is your identity, all our identity, as we look towards life eternal in the presence of the God who loves us, and identifies us as His own.

AMEN!