1 John 3:9 “No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.”

I sat on the couch staring at the gun. It wasn’t the first time I held a gun, but it was the first time I held one with intent. David and I had gotten the gun for protection after someone had come to the studio flashing one. David was gone now though and all I had was the gun… and anger.  

I hadn’t really talked to anybody in days it felt like. I did nothing but alternate between rage and pain. Now I was faced with somewhere to direct that rage. We put the word out that we were looking for the man who shot David, with the intention of finding him before the police did. E had called to say that someone knew where he was, J had left with everyone else to pick up more guns and people, and I was sitting alone in my apartment staring at the gun. In that moment, I wanted more than anything else to be angry enough. Angry enough to forget who I was, angry enough to throw off my old identity and become someone who could get revenge against the man who had taken his brother away. How could I forgive myself if I did it? How could I forgive myself if I didn’t? The phone rang, I answered it, it was my mother… and I remembered who I was. The anger turned to tears… and I came back to me.

None of us are strangers to dark times. To moments of pain, of confusion, of chaos where we are so close to forgetting who we are. Maybe it’s the loss of a loved one or maybe it’s an insult we cannot bear to ignore. Anger flares up within us and for a moment we are balanced on a knife’s edge between remembering who we are and becoming someone new. Someone we might not even recognize. It is in those times that we all get a call. The seed of God within us, the indwelling Holy Spirit begins to remind us not only who we are, but who we belong to. All we have to do is listen. The God who shaped us, who molded us in His image will also keep us from letting that image be distorted. God will keep us and, if we’ve made some choices we regret or become someone we don’t want to be, he will restore us.

We live in a world where the concept of identity has become a confused mess. We’ve got men identifying as women, a white person identifying as a black woman, and some people rejecting gender identification all together. As we talk about identity this month, grab hold of the opportunity to return to the “you” God created you to be. He formed you, He looked at you, and He was pleased with his creation. There is still time to turn away from the anger, to turn away from the fear, and come back to you.

Father God we are in this world beset by trouble on all sides and Lord, if we’re honest, we’ve compromised and made choices that have taken us away from what you made us to be. Lord we ask you now to restore in us an identity that comes from you. Lord let us focus on representing you while we let you focus on protecting and providing for us. In Jesus Name, Amen

By: Pastor. Jerry Wilson