Seeking identity

Everyone wants it. People will pay great money for it. People will steal for it. People will lie to get it. People will give up their dignity to maintain. People will sacrifice their purity to keep it. People will give away almost anything else to have this one thing.
Identity.
As I write this I find myself in the midst of an identity recalibration. I am really not sure what else to call it. It's not a crisis. It's not a total change. It is a recalibration; an adjustment.
My identity is in Jesus, by what that means is certainly changing. It is changing away from things like how I do church and what I believe about a thousand different "doctrines." This is hard, because "church" is my employer. It is my job. And that creates a extra set of expectations and issues. It is a blessing and a curse. (Well, curse might be a bit strong, but I hope you get the idea.)
God is shaping more and more into finding my identity in the person of Jesus Christ. Not in the church. Not in my faith. Not in my spiritual disciplines and habits. Simply in Jesus.
I am a part of a faith community who has tended to seek it's identity in the way we "do church." It has affected the way we interpret texts. It impacts our approach to life. In a practical way it affects the way we live our lives. I have seen plently of people who will fight to the death for the way we do church, but the rest of their life tends to look very little like what Jesus talks about throughout the Gospels.
The problem is that many (in and out of our specific religious tribe) have made church a part of their identity instead of making Jesus their ONLY identity. This mindset has allowed many Christians to be faithful on Sunday mornings while mistreating employees, friends, and family on Monday. It creates situations where teenagers praise Jesus on Wednesday night and sleep with their boyfriend on Friday night. It makes it "OK" for us to put a few dollars in the contribution plate while ignoring our neighbor who needs food or clothing. I could go on and on, but the point is this: when our identity is in anything other that Jesus Himself, our life will be filled with inconsistancy and identity confusion.
I say all this above because at many points along my walk I have been that person. And, to be honest, parts of me continue to be that person. But God has really worked on me over the last couple of months and started opening my eyes to what I could be. He is showing me that identity anywhere but in His Son is selling ourselves short. It is a problem that started in the Garden of Eden and continues today.
I have plenty more to say, but I will stop for now. I just want to encourage you to pray about where you seek your identity. Is it in your job? Your friends? Your possesions? Your boyfriend/girlfriend? Your music? Your spouse? Or one of a hundred other places?
Seek your identity in the one place that the One who made you wants to find it: Jesus Christ.

shine!
Jason