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| Identity: Children of God through the Blood of Christ |
Although my most recent ancestors are to a large degree of Finnish ethnicity, I am pretty much a mutt. You see, my forefathers really did not racially discriminate when it came to choosing life-long partners. Most people that I know today are of mixed ethnic backgrounds.
When first applying for the ministry, I had to fill out some forms and of course the question of ethnicity was on the paperwork. I chose other and wrote in "Christian - Holy Nation." We are who we are and I am first and foremost a member of the Body of Christ, a member of a Holy Nation.
I have struggled with this gender identity question. I was born in a female body. I will die in a female body. I have thought about this alot. Yet, I have no clue what it means to feel like a woman in a female body. I also do not know what it feels like to be a man in a female body. I only know what it feels like to be me. That is not to discount those who feel otherwise about themselves. I have friends who consider themselves to be transgendered. They do not make an issue of it. They do not announce to everyone that they must be referred to by any specific pronouns. They just continue to live according to who they are and according to the gifts they have been given. They are who they are. We all are who we are. But, of primary importance is that we are children of God.
There have been times when I would have preferred to be a man. As a woman, I have been discriminated against on way more than a few occasions. A position I applied for once was closed and they hired no one at the time as I was the most qualified for the position. They really had not wanted to hire a woman for the position that was, at the time, a position that was traditionally for men. For a few years, I owned a business that did outdoor maintenance (parks, cemeteries, snow-plowing, etc.) I often received calls from men who wanted to talk to my husband about a contract although my husband had no part in the business.
I have received traits passed down from both males and females from my ancestry. We all have. Color of skin, ethnicity, gender; all parts of our genetic inheritance that help to determine who we are as individuals. But, in the end these individual traits within each of us cannot become the priority in the lives of the members of the Body of Christ. What is of primary importance is that Christ lives and dwells within us. We are one in him. As children of the heavenly Father; as members of the Body of Christ, we use whatever gifts we have been given to glorify God.
"For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."
(Gal 3:26-29)
(Gal 3:26-29)
Who we are or think we are (that would be our egos) is not so important as knowing that we are children of God. Our identity lies in our baptisms into the family of God. Our identity lies in Christ. There is no blood that is thicker than the blood that was shed for us on the cross. Live life in Christ for in him and because of him we live and have our being.
"And (God) hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring."
(Acts 17:26:28)
God's Peace - Pr. J
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