Where Does Your Identity Come From?

Do you know that you are loved by God? That is where our identity comes from.

There are a lot of ways to lose sight of that. I could go on and on about the ways that our theology has distorted God as an angry judge who lacks compassion for people, but perhaps there is some low hanging fruit that we can address today that may help us even begin the process of seeing ourselves as we are: God’s beloved children.

What many of us need more than anything is some time and space. We need a quiet moment to stop for awareness of God and God’s love for us.

Yet, we can remain plugged in for just about every free moment, filling our eyes and ears with what we can see and hear on our screens, from computers to phones to radios. Before we can even think of the barriers that keep us from seeing our identity as God’s beloved children, we need to see what keeps us from thinking clearly in the first place.

Often my attention has been fragmented by my digital technology use, from my phone to my social media accounts. Even worse, social media can become a source of my identity as I hope that people like my ideas, enjoy what I post, and interact with me respectfully and kindly.

A bad day on social media used to mean a bad day for my identity.

Clearing away the haze of social media and the constant temptation of my phone has been a vitally important step in my own growth since I could finally think clearly about… well… what I think!

Learn more about smartphones and space for spirituality in my next book,
releasing June 2, 2020 from Herald Press:

Reconnect: Spiritual Restoration from Digital Distraction