I recently took my mother to renew her driver’s license and felt
like I had been “put through the wringer” – that old fashioned
crank machine for laundry. First, we had to schedule an
appointment online and then find the office all the way out by the
airport. My sense of direction is pretty iffy so we were lost for
about 30 minutes. We finally arrived but her current driver’s
license was not sufficient even though she has been driving for
over 60 years, 50 of those right here in Lubbock. She had a copy
of her birth certificate but that would not work either as it did not
have the raised seal. We left and scheduled appointment number
two with yet another mishap and finally got it done with
appointment number 3. My mom felt disconcerted that she had to
do so much to prove who she was… insulted almost. It is part of
the new “ID.me” program and I am sure there are good reasons
for the new criteria but it was unexpected. This experience
prompted further thoughts for me on how our earthly identity and
heavenly identity are different. Our earthly identity is often based
on how we feel (happy, sad, angry, etc.). Our heavenly identity is
based on who God says we are and His purpose for our life. What
God says about us is absolute truth while other people’s feelings
towards us, or even how we feel about ourselves, is often laced
with lies from the enemy. John 1:12 says “But to all who did
receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to
become children of God.” I recently read an analogy about the
cross and our identity in Christ. Our “vertical” relationship with
God, made possible through Christ, is the “North Star” or the
vertical part of the cross. Placing our identity in Christ enables
us to take care of what is in our horizon – what is in front of us
(the horizontal part of the cross).
We can view the world through God’s eyes, spend our days wisely and love others like Jesus. We
always go up the cross first so we can take care of and cultivate
what is around us. I am so thankful that the Lord calls us by
name (Isaiah 43:1), collects our tears (Psalm 56:8) and knows
the number of hairs on our head (Luke 12:7). Once we are saved,
we are His with no need to further prove our identity. Our name
is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life and that’s it – no
appointment required, no waiting and no expiration date!
