Find Your Identity Beyond Sports

When people ask you about yourself, what do you say?

“I’m a quarterback.”

“I play basketball.”

“I’m from Portland.”

Those are all valid responses, but they won’t help people know you. You see, what defines us is not our position, placement or any other label. It goes deeper than that. We can get so wrapped up in what we do that we forget who we are. And who we are is most important because everything else flows from there.

God does not intend for us to be so preoccupied by our performance that we forget we are first and foremost beloved by Him.

Before Jesus ever did a single minute of public ministry, God looked down on Him and declared that Jesus was loved. He was rooted in His identity as the Father’s Son. He was baptized by His cousin John to fulfill prophecy. Jesus gave us the example to follow, not because He needed to repent of any sin, but to stay in step with the will of His Father, which was His desire for His people to repent and be devoted to God.

This is God’s beloved Son, with whom He is well pleased. Not by anything He’s done, but simply because of who He is.

We, too, are God’s chosen people, and He calls us His children. This is the truth of who you are:

You Are Loved

The God of the universe looks at you and loves you intimately. He created us in His image, for His glory, and to share in close relationship with Him. There is nothing He has held back to bring us close, including giving up His Son Jesus to take away the sin of the world and bring us into the Kingdom of God forever.

You Are Chosen

God set us apart as His children. As such, we are invited into the wonderful world of God’s Kingdom. We share this Kingdom here on Earth and enjoy the benefits of being in God’s family. Peace, joy, love, hope — they are all ours in abundance.

You Are Set Apart

From the very beginning, God loved and chose you for His family, and He has set you apart as such. You are part of a special family, a royal priesthood, and God has given you good and specific things to do. You have influence in ways that only you can, and lives to touch that God has intentionally placed in your own life.

The more we lean into who we are in Christ, the more we begin to associate with the Kingdom of God and long to renew our minds, bodies and souls to what is pleasing to the Lord. Like Jesus, we don’t have to try and impress anyone with our stats or position. We can rest in our status as God’s beloved children.