I’ve been thinking a lot about “dreams” lately. I’ve had many of these fantasies in my life, and, let me tell you, I’m very glad that most them did not come true. The truth is that if many of these aspirations came to fruition they would have led me further from God (and thus further from eternal life).
Still, when these “dreams” crash and burn it can seem humiliating, deflating, and (sometimes) even embarrassing. It can really seem as if your life is coming to end, or at least that you are a wretched and miserable failure.
Thankfully, Christianity can protect you from the disappointment of your “dreams not coming true”. Jesus tells you that your identity doesn’t have to be centered solely in yourself, it can be located outside yourself (in God). When you put your identity in God you begin to realize the immense pressure that you have on you when you attempt to “make” your own identity.
I, for one, believe that America is going through an identity crisis, and I think this is largely because Americans are told that in order to be happy one must “look within themselves” and “follow their heart”. Doing this puts all the pressure on you, and oftentimes it is a pressure that no human can live up to. Besides, following your heart only works if what you are aspiring to is currently “trendy” and not looked down upon by society. Nothing takes the air out of “being yourself” more than others thinking the “self” you have chosen is unacceptable.
So, the question is, why should you take on all this pressure? Why should you be responsible for designing the “perfect you”? If it is going to be enjoyable on any level at all then you will have to design a “you” that adheres to the whatever the current society deems trendy and in vogue. And many things that are fashionable today are downright morally reprehensible.
You shouldn’t have to be responsible for that. That’s why you should look to the Bible, the Word of God for your identity. If you do, then all of the identity pressure will be removed and you will finally be free.
You might ask, “How will I be free if I have to follow a rule book like the Bible? Won’t that make me less free?” It might seem like that on the surface, but I assure you that following the design God has laid out in the Bible will allow you to finally find freedom, not lose it.
If you put yourself in God’s hands and allow Him to direct your life (through His Word and will) you will finally achieve the freedom you were looking for all along. Don’t define your identity by earthly standards because whatever you choose to “go after” could be taken from you at any moment by illness, misfortune, or death. Put your hopes in things eternal and place your identity in the hands of your Creator. I’ll end this blog with one verse that sums this up better than I ever could:
Mat 16:25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.