Knowing Who I Am in Christ – an unexpected metaphor.

Thanks for sharing!

As you begin reading, you may wonder how this is going to turn into an article about knowing who I am in Christ.  About knowing who YOU are in Christ.  But let’s get to it.

The truth is, I just can’t trust my slippers anymore.  But why wouldn’t I trust my slippers?  What could possibly have gone so wrong with something designed solely for comfort??

A lot.

I was in the house on a cold, dry evening, making dinner.  While wearing my slippers, obviously.

My boys came running to the door to get me to come outside and take a look at something.  Now, if you live on a farm and you have boys, you will know that if they’re excited to show me something outside, there’s a good possibility that that something is disgusting, and they were just trying to gross me out.  And that’s 100% what was happening on this particular evening.

The Unexpected Metaphor

I walked outside in my slippers (remember, it was a dry night) to quickly see what was so exiting.  Now brace yourself… if you don’t live on a farm and parent boys, this may be a bit much… What they had to show me was poop.  But not just any poop… this was special poop.

At some point in the preceding 24 hours, our faithful barn cat, Diego, must have killed a RAT.  But you see, Diego has a very cultured palette, and doesn’t particularly enjoy rat.  So he leaves it for whatever scavenger finds it first.  Unfortunately, the scavenger that found this rat was my beloved Aussie-doodle, Tucker.

Tucker is a very privileged house dog who follows me around by day and snuggles me by night.  While he appreciates the taste of rat, he doesn’t have the constitution for it.  So he did the only thing he could do…  He pooped out a ball of fur and bones, and indistinguishable mush. 

I was so horrified at first glance that I took a large and immediate step backwards… and stepped (with my slipper) right into a secondary pile of the same feces.  My slippers… the ones I wear from sun-up to sun-set were compromised in a devastating way.  I took them off and threw them towards my husband, shouting that he had to either throw them out or make them like new.

The Sacrifice & Identity Crisis

And, despite my manners, he made them like new.  He rinsed them, he washed them, he disinfected them… there’s not a trace of anything nasty anymore.

But I still, over a week later, haven’t been able to put my slippers on.  My husband gave me a free gift.  He sacrificed his time and comfort to clean my slippers.  But all I can see when I look at them is filth, despite the fact that they’ve been washed clean.

This is just a funny (true) story, but it made me think of something more.  And hear me clearly, I don’t want the story I just told you to minimize the weight of what I’m about to talk about.

Your Identity In Christ

If you’re a Christian, Jesus has washed you clean.  He has picked you up from the filth.  He has washed you and made you new.   He has covered you and removed any stains.  But despite that, how often do you think to yourself that you’re worthless?  Screwed-up?  Incapable?  A filthy wreck?

You see, that silly slippers story is a metaphor.  Despite the fact that my husband made them clean, I haven’t been able to walk in those slippers again.  Now what about you?  What do you believe?  Do you believe the lies that you are not yet clean?  Or do you believe the truth that the work of Christ was full and complete and that God sees you as clean?

Remind Yourself of Who You Are in Christ

This doesn’t mean you’re perfect, but it means that Christ has covered you.  When God looks at you, he sees the sacrifice Jesus made, and he sees that you’re clean.  And FREE.  Not to carry on in sin and darkness, but to grab hold of the truth, to grab hold of the light and let it propel you forward to live a life that reflects what Christ has done for you.

Check out some related posts here:

TRUTH VS. LIES

UNDERSTANDING WHO GOD IS

SETTING GOALS AS A CHRISTIAN

Thanks for sharing!