Revealing Identity

Whether legal or illegal will not determine access or motive. We do not have an abortion issue in the US; it's much, much more deeply rooted than that. A desire to end a life is a depth that we as, 'the worlds elite', refuse to plunge. We cannot seem to allow ourselves to see beyond the appearance of evil to rescue the orphan beneath it all. Overturning a legal means to death lends to exaggerating the shame already raging. We don't have a murder issue; way beyond legality lies a crippling lack. A key ingredient of identity. We are in crisis at the core of our being.

These and other thoughts rage in my soul. I have an obnoxious ability to see beyond the obvious, to burrow my way to ground zero of everything. I am compelled to think this way. And to agree that it’s a gift.

We think legality will give us a leg up, in reality, it suspends the issue at hand in time, piling shame on shame, highlighting the shortcoming as much as possible. The premise of perfection is what is killing our society. We are limited, by comparison, never realizing what we're capable of. We highlight sin as our core issue; laziness! It's far easier to point out the obvious than the bravery it takes to rightly see the brilliant vessel within the mess. I think the greater question, the one that reigns supreme, the one we refuse to say out loud is: What is sin exactly? We file everything between the tension of the knowledge of good and evil. We view one another through this lens; by my estimate, it's a broken lens that Jesus rendered inoperable at the cross. But, still, what about sin...

10 Now Christ lives his life in you! And even though your body may be dead because of the effects of sin, his life-giving Spirit imparts life to you because you are fully accepted by God. 11 Yes, God raised Jesus to life! And since God’s Spirit of Resurrection lives in you, he will also raise your dying body to life by the same Spirit that breathes life into you! Romans 8

We've been raised up with Christ as a new creation. Romans 8 brilliantly lays out our path of walking by the Spirit over our flesh. Walking by the Spirit isn't, 'be good so God will like you' -- it blows "good" out of the water! It's unapologetically agreeing with God no matter how crazy his opinion is of you. If he says, "Change the conception of identity, change the world!", that's the way he sees you. That's the truth of the capacity within. That's what 'Christ in me' looks like! I guarantee you, it's not fulfilling a rule set. The Apostle Paul, while still Saul, was fulfilling the law, Jesus found him worthy of ejection from his lofty sights at the tippy top of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Paul lived within the crossover from the old to new; his transfiguration is bold and blatant. The man is known for swift justice according to the law he trades in his badge for love, joy, and peace. He then throws grace around with the same force and dedication he did those stones. His understanding of righteousness came with a completely new revelation, "I came to you knowing nothing beneath the knowledge of Christ and him crucified-- that's who I am!" For Paul, living outside of that revelation to any degree would have been his definition of sin; or cause thereof. To agree with the Author and Finisher of your faith(identity) is righteousness. New Creation reality is a higher standard than the old covenant ever thought to ask of us. They were overseen by words etched in stone, we are driven by the very spirit of God, the Savior in us. To grieve Holy Spirit is to enter into agreement with anything less than what's on God's mind concerning you. Holy Spirit has graciously taken up residence in our being. When our lives unfold in opposition to who He says we are, we're grieving the Savior within us. Maybe that's a sin!

I'm not going to drop a grenade-like Holy Spirit conversation

and walk away without going back to explain. That would be unkind! "Change the conception of identity, change the world!", that phrase came railing at me like a freight train. Accelerating words that stoked my simmering fire and found me wanting all at once. Conception? Identity I understand, but the conception of it... I felt so unsure, so remarkably small under this mandate. Like suddenly the whole world was grabbing for a piece of me. In moments like this there is nothing left to do, but be busy. So busy that you forget that that phrase ever even existed. As it turns out, flaming words like that don't ever go out, they sit in the background taunting action. Ignored long enough and your body turns on you to lend some fuel to that fire. Tension and frustration, outbursts of rage all accompany an ignored call. Ultimately a feeling of separation surfaces, at that point, I surrender and give up the busyness act to allow who I am in Christ to unfurl. To stop falling short in my idolatry and agree, I will change the conception of identity to change the world.

I've been given a gift to see beyond the physical, to peer into the unknown and know what's missing. Like me, you could be wondering how on earth... Well, that's how. I have eyes to see and as one who equips, I'll gently pull back the blinders revealing the wonder and mystery of who we really are from the beginning of time. Reaching down into the conception of identity is like igniting a wildfire, it can't be contained. A calling is NEVER something you can accomplish on your own. If it's impossible, it's God. If it takes an army, it's Heavenly. I'm going to be surrounded by the wild ones, mothering the ones who will paint with broad strokes, forever changing the course of history through one awakened identity at a time. I haven't known where to begin; setting sail, anyway.