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Keeping Our Identity – Know Our Roots
When I finished high school, I was very excited because I was about to embark on the next stage of life – university. To my dismay, my exam results did not permit me to go to the university of my choice, so I took a “gap year” and spent that time working and studying.
In retrospect, I realize that it was God’s will that I did not go to university that year, although it took me a while to grasp this. The extra year allowed me to understand my relationship with God better and pinpoint the state of my faith. At eighteen, my faith was still immature and I wasn’t ready to handle life away from home. God knew better, and He kept me at home another year to establish my faith and to clearly identify my spiritual roots. Without that year, it would have been extremely difficult for me to uphold my faith at university. Without that year, I would not be motivated to get closer to God and become more mature spiritually. Thank God that during that time, I became a better child of God.
I know that was God’s way to help me keep the identity of a Christian. For God is love, He knows us more than we know ourselves. And God’s love throughout that “gap year” made me think about our roots of spiritual identity.
“For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died” (2 Cor 5:14)
We all have an identity. We know who our parents are, what our nationality is, and where we come from. Some people, to better understand their lineage, delve even deeper into their roots and study the genealogy of their family.
Knowing our lineage helps us understand who we are today. As Christians, it is vital that we know our roots and spiritual lineage. So what is our spiritual lineage?
“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” (1 Pet 2:9)
Our spiritual lineage stems from being “a chosen generation.” We have obtained mercy, we have been justified and purified, and we are now the temple of God (1 Pet 1:12; Gal 4:7; 1 Cor 3:16, 6:19-20). Our spiritual lineage was established when our Lord Jesus Christ turned us from “darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God” so that we may “receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in [Him]” (Acts 26:18).
Our spiritual lineage makes us Christians today. It is important that we know what our spiritual lineage stands for and that we live up to our identity as Christians.
Nehemiah 7 records how God asked Nehemiah to register by family those “who came back from the captivity” (Neh 7:6). Among those who returned were three families of priests who were unable to identify “their father’s house nor their lineage” (Neh 7:61). As a result, “they were excluded from the priesthood as defiled” (Neh 7:64).
Not knowing our heritage may cost us our spiritual priesthood, as it did these three priestly families in the Old Testament. It is God’s mercy that we can be chosen ones, and God’s love compels us to be a true Christian and keep our spiritual priesthood.
Come and learn more about our spiritual root through bible study, sermons and fellowship. We warmly welcome you to our upcoming Fall Evangelical Service and Spiritual Convocation. You can also join us for the Fall ESSC via online streaming. Here’s the ESSC schedule:
Thursday, September 26, 2024 6:50PM to 8:10PM
Friday and Saturday, September 27-28, 2024 9:00AM to 8:10PM
Sunday, September 29, 2024 9:00AM to 1:00PM
Complimentary lunch and dinner will be served.
Please find our church location below:
4N550 Church Road
Bensenville, IL 60106
Google Maps
In the meantime, please feel free to join us for our regular Sabbath (Friday evening and Saturday) services online or in-person.
Friday Evening Service: 7:50PM – 9:00PM
Saturday Morning Service: 10:50AM – 12:00Noon
Saturday Afternoon Service: 1:30PM – 2:40PM
Email us at ilovejesus@tjc-chicago.org