Identity - Being God's Unique Creation

I was reading an article called “The Tech Effect” online, from Christianity Today, and I was struck by one the quotes there. My thoughts are completely unrelated and outside the boundaries of the article. This is the quote:

“When I started [preaching], I was very focused on the question of effectiveness. I found myself drowning because unless I saw some really big life change happening, I felt like a failure. I had a therapist (I'll admit it), and he said to me, "Shane, I went from being an average therapist to being a really great therapist when I simply offered interventions and I stopped being invested in the outcomes." That was a big insight for me. So for me good preaching is being connected to who God's made me to be, and not investing my identity in the outcomes.” Shane Hipps

This quote references the very thing that can make life and ministry so difficult. Success is NEVER about the response of someone else. Whether or not people ever respond to the gospel has absolutely nothing to do with my success. Whether 10,000 people respond and are changed by the gospel has nothing – ZERO – to do with my success. God and God alone is the creator out outcomes, the changer of hearts!

I find that, especially in western society, we are overwhelmingly concerned with results and quantifications. But that is not at all what God is concerned about. God is concerned about much bigger things like: our relationships, our character, whether we are true worshippers: men and women after His own heart.

I wish the church (as a whole worldwide body) could truly wrap their minds around the real definition of Biblical success. Hey, I wish I could wrap my mind around the true definition of Biblical success! How many broken and discouraged people could find new hope? The freedom of truly finding our identity in Christ, regardless of the outcomes, regardless of the opinions of others (even other believers), could have an indescribable impact on the world.

I am learning, and will likely spend my entire life trying to figure out, how to base my estimation of my worth on who God has called me to BE and not on what I am doing, the results of my actions or the opinions of others. I hope you can find the freedom Christ offers by basing your identity solely on who He is calling you to BE. Keep shining, let Him control the results!