“You are my beloved Son. In You I am well-pleased.” (Luke 3:22)

“Hi, my name is Charlie, and I am an accountant.”
“Hello, I’m Charlene, and I am a manager.”
“Friends, please help me welcome Prophetess Seymour.”
“This is Mai Dhas, a prominent businessman. Everything he touches turns to gold.”

Have you noticed how often we identify ourselves by what we do than by who we are?

Social scientists have found that those whose identity is defined solely by what they do for a living are more prone to feeling totally lost when they face a layoff, firing or retirement. This is particularly true of men.

Sad to say this tendency can also affect followers of Jesus. We are labelled (or choose to label ourselves) by our functions, positions and activities within the Body. As a result, when we are asked to give up what we are doing or take on new responsibilities, we often find the transition quite difficult.

A while ago, the Father presented me with a scenario and asked me a rather thought-provoking question that I need to share with you.

He said: “Let’s consider two people who are at opposite ends of the socio-economic spectrum. One is an assistant manager at a fast-food restaurant earning $25,000 a year. Another is the C.E.O of that chain who earns a cool $25 million plus stock options.”

“Each of them decides to enter into the covenant of marriage with their respective partners for life and needs to obtain a marriage licence. When the Commissioner of Oaths asks them to provide proof of who they are, which document do they produce:
Their Birth Certificate or their Business Card?”

No matter what they do for a living, no matter how little or how much they earn, no matter whether they live in a shack or a mansion, no matter whether they drive a Ford Focus or a Ferrari Testerosa, there is only one document that determines who they are.
It is the Birth Certificate, amen?

The Lord went on to say: “If you can grasp this reality in the natural, why can you not get a hold of it in the spiritual realm as well? It is your new birth into the Kingdom, it is your citizenship in Heaven, your membership in my family that determines who you are—my son, my daughter.”

“Don’t get me wrong. I am glad to see what you have accomplished in life. I am delighted that you are using the gifts and talents that I placed within you at creation to great use in the workplace. I am ecstatic about how you are deploying your spiritual gifts to build the Body. You are truly amazing.”

“Yet, your heavenly pedigree is not determined by your earthly degrees.
The entry of your name in the Book of Life is not based on your fame in life.
What you inherit is not a matter of merit.
What you are entitled to is not tied to your title.
You are my child. I am your Father. That is your identity.”

Dear DWOD friend, no matter what your business card says, what your birth certificate says is what really matters. In life. And for eternal life. Amen?