I am not my own, but His own. I was created for Him.
8 min. read / Click below to listen to me read this post.
Day 66 Verse:
“For by Him all things were created:
Colossians 1:16 (NIV84)
things in heaven and on earth,
visible and invisible,
whether thrones or powers
or rulers or authorities;
all things were created
by Him and for Him.”
The Personal Tower of PISA
I was listening to a Bible teacher several years ago who shared research that identified four things all humans want. I switched the order in which they were presented to form an acronym (because I’m me) and dubbed it the Personal Tower of PISA:
- P is for Purpose;
- I is for Identity;
- S is for Security;
- A is for Acceptance.
Your Tower of PISA
Have you asked any or all of the following questions?
| Purpose: | What am I supposed to do? What was I made to do? Why am I here? What are my talents, gifts, abilities? Am I good at anything? What will I do when I grow up? Does anyone need me? How can I contribute? Do I have anything to offer? |
| Identity: | Who am I? Who do I want to be? Who should I be? Who am I supposed to be? Who was I made to be? Who am I really? |
| Security: | Am I safe? Do I have all I need? Will I be OK tomorrow? Who will protect me? Who will defend me? Who’s got my back? What about death? What about eternity? |
| Acceptance: | Does anyone like me? Does anyone care about me? Does anyone love me? Is anyone OK with the real me? Does anyone want me? Does anyone think I’m worthy? Does anyone admire me? Does anyone follow me? Do I belong? |
If you’ve asked any of these questions before,
I’m pretty sure it means you’re human. 😉
Created by Him & for Him
Our Day 65 post was about Christ as our Creator. If you are a Bible-believing follower of Jesus, then you must approach the PISA questions from the viewpoint of a creation.
He is Creator; I am created.
Col. 1:16 says something even more interesting than this, however; You were not just created by Him — you were created for Him.
Created for Him, Not for Me
“You are not your own; you were bought at a price.
I Corinthians 6:19,20 (NIV)
Therefore honor God with your bodies.”
This certainly flies in the face of our autonomous, individualistic culture which says we are our own, belong to ourselves, are worth whatever we decide, and can — and should — do whatever we want with our bodies.
Our culture is wrong.
When I go in search of purpose, identity, security, and acceptance on my own, without God, outside His Word, in the way this world says to do it, I end up in more of a mental, emotional, physical, and relational mess than when I started.
We can see PISA in the snippet from I Corinthians:
“You are not your own; you were bought at a price.
I Corinthians 6:19,20 (NIV)
Therefore honor God with your bodies.”
Purpose: “honor God” [Part of the reason you were created is to give God honor!]
Identity: “you are…” and “you were…” [God gives you new identity in Christ.]
Security: “not your own” [God doesn’t make you fend for yourself — He takes care of His own, from now through eternity!]
Acceptance: “bought at a price” [You are so valuable to God He paid with the blood of His Son to bring you into His family!]
A Non-leaning Tower of PISA
Belonging to God through Christ, being made for Him, gives us a purpose higher than self, an identity not centered in self, a security in the Sovereign One who is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-present, and acceptance into a family in which we didn’t earn our way and we were not born.
“Yet to all who did receive Him,
John 1:12-13 (NIV)
to those who believed in His name,
He gave the right to become
children of God —
children born not of natural descent,
nor of human decision or a husband’s will,
but born of God.”
We belong to the family of God!
Purpose, identity, security, and acceptance are found throughout God’s Word as He describes our right relationship with Him as our Father, made possible through Christ the Son, our Brother, and the Holy Spirit, our indwelling Best Friend.
We were created for relationship with Him.
We were made for this!
“So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
18All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
21God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”
II Cor. 5:16-21 (NIV)
DAY 66 PRAYER:
Father God,
Thank You for creating me! Life is a great privilege, and relationship with You the greatest privilege.
Thank You for sending Jesus to re-create me. Sin marred Your image in me and made our relationship impossible… until I received Jesus by faith! For Christ “who had no sin” You made to be sin for me, so that in Him I might become the righteousness of God: I am a new creation and we are reconciled!
I was not created for myself; I was created for You. You have blessed me with purpose, identity, security, and acceptance, for my best and Your glory and the ministry of reconciliation (a.k.a., imploring others to be reconciled to You, too).
As I study Your Word, may I get to know You ever better, and better understand my purpose, identity, security, and acceptance in Christ.
I love You; thank You for first loving me.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Your post are so much better that reading a devotional… thank you Alicia for putting your “Yes” on the table.
Thank you so much, Lisa!