“When the sharpest words wanna cut me down, I’m gonna send a flood, gonna drown them out. I am brave. I am bruised. I am who I’m meant to be, this is me!”
As a big fan of musicals, I’ve been hooked with the movie “The Greatest Showman” and have been watching it countless of times on my laptop. The powerful depiction of emotions all throughout the movie and relatable struggles from each and every character makes it a fine and noble piece of art, let alone a one-of-a-kind self-awakening medium for most people battling with insecurities and struggles in our daily living. The highlight of the movie was when the circus people came out in the open and sung the famous and well-loved song, “This is Me” as their battle-cry.
Most Christians battle with identity and self-worth in this chaotic world, no one is an exception to these feelings as we try to strive to find our identity in Christ. We have our own stories, scars, and ugly pasts that makes us authentic and beautifully broken for God’s purpose and glory (Romans 8:28). We have been made new (2 Corinthians 5:17), all of our sins: past, present and future are already paid by the blood of Jesus Christ(1 John 1:9).
There is no greater enemy than the devil who tries to steal our joy from experiencing the freedom we have in Christ. The enemy does nothing but “…prowl around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) ; the tricky part is that if we let ourselves be consumed by what the world and the devil is trying to dictate, we will definitely crumble in defeat. Many times people question the authenticity of their Christianity by their past and the sins they have been committing every single day, but the more that we understand the gospel of Jesus Christ, the more we find hope and value the weight of grace.
“I’m not a stranger to the dark. Hide away, they say, ’cause we don’t want your broken parts. I’ve learned to be ashamed of all my scars. Run away, they say, no one will love you as you are. But I won’t let them break me down to dust, I know that there’s a place for us, for we are glorious.”
The good news is that though our sins be like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow (Isaiah 1:18). In other words, God has pardoned us and has redeemed us from our sins (Colossians 1:14). Every time that God looks down on us, He sees Jesus’ blood instead of our filth and grime. He has poured His wrath on Christ so that we may be pardoned and be spared from His eternal rage (Romans 3:22-26). Christ has taken account for everything, and He has broken of the chains of sin (Psalms 107:14) that used to separate us from the love of God. God wants you to come as you are: a sinner in need of mercy, just like the prostitute who washed Jesus’ feet, our response as someone in the feet of Christ will determine our worth in the light of the gospel.
The problem of mankind is that we all have an idolatrous heart.We tend to associate ourselves and our identity in people, things, jobs, clubs, accomplishments, and even in our ministries and certain assertion of our knowledge about God’s Word. We tend to look for an image of God in all these but fail, because the creation is not the Creator. The mere creation in itself cannot satisfy our lingering hunger for awe, because our hearts are made to look for the love that only God can give. The excessive love for the creation is not just an awe problem, it is a spiritual problem. The more we indulge in these things and make them our god, the more the voice of the world gets louder in dictating our identity. .
“Look up, cause here I come! And I’m marching on to the beat I drum. I’m not scared to be seen, I make no apologies. This is me!”
There is no condemnation in Christ (Romans 8:1). We are justified through Christ. It didn’t just end there, following verse 2 it says, “For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” We are found guiltless and righteous for Christ’s sake. We are renewed daily, slowly being transformed. The concept of sanctification has been evident in verse 2 as stated that we are “…free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” If we are truly united with Christ, we have been pardoned and have power over our sins through Him. We have the absolute freedom from staying sinful and being weighed down by our former sinful tendencies. Sin has no dominion over us because we are now under God’s grace, we are ransomed by the Christ’s sacrifice. (Romans 6:14)
“Another round of bullets hits my skin. Well, fire away! Cause today, I won’t let the shame sink in…”
Every story written by the Author, every pain, every suffering, and every trial that was thrown our way are all an exquisite story to mirror His glory at the end of the day. The way God shapes our hearts and minds, sanctifying and teaching us how we should go and why certain things had to happen. Our own stories and struggles can be used as God’s medium to help and reach out others and say,“I know what it feels like, and I understand. God will pull you out of that situation, He might let you go through it, but the greatest storms and struggles in our lives are sometimes the hidden blessings from the Lord. Everything works out for the good, for those who love Christ.” We now have the confidence to face people and be open about the things we have experienced from the past because the things we did and the old life we lived, that is not our identity anymore. Our identity and our hope is placed in Christ alone.
So let them hurl your past and throw reminders of who you were before being changed, but the blood of Christ has redeemed us so that we can freely say: THIS IS ME!
Rizia B. Paragas, TLW Publications Team Leader
Rizia, or most commonly known as “Delight”, is a 22-year-old BS Business Economics graduate who is passionate in serving God through sharing the Gospel and making Christ known to young men and women. She enjoys singing, writing articles and reading countless of books that are mostly regarding about theology and plants. She runs her plant business, Plant Delight, and is a big fan of long mountain hikes and swimming in deep oceans. You can check out her blog on https://chipsdelight22.wordpress.com/.
