Last February I discovered that I was the victim of identity theft.  The complications of that continue to haunt me to this day.

The latest tangled mess has to do with FAFSA forms and my daughter’s college education.  If you have walked down FAFSA lane, you know it’s a bureaucrat’s dream come true.  So there are two moribund federal bureaucracies playing ping-pong with me.  Grrr…

But there’s a worse identity theft concern.  And it’s not just mine.  It’s yours, too.  It appears that most of us are victims of this more insidious identity theft.

God is our creator and designer.  As such, he gives us our identity.  But too often, that identity is stolen, and replaced with a fake…a deception…a lie.  Here are some examples:

• God says you have infinite value. But you’ve come to believe the lie that you are trash.  Identity stolen.
• God says that you are forgiven. But you believe the lie that what you’ve done can never really be forgiven.  Identity stolen.
• God says that you are gifted and called. But you believe the lie that your mediocre life doesn’t really matter. Identity stolen.
• God says that he will be with you, even in the valley of the shadow of death. But you believe the lie that in that valley, God abandoned you.  Identity stolen.
• God says that you are his precious son/daughter. But you believe the lie that you’re only a spiritual foster child, whose connection to the family is temporary at best.  Identity stolen.

I could go on.  So could you.  In each case, your identity is stolen, and your life becomes a more tangled mess of confusion, exhaustion, and disappointment.

Here’s an idea. Let’s listen to our Maker.  Let’s let his voice be the one that determines our identity.  Let’s get our identity back!  If you needed a better motivation to spend time in God’s word, now you have it.

-Pastor Mark

P.S. Hope to see you this weekend as we kick off a new series, “Learning the Language of God.”