Welcome back to the Identity Crisis Mini Series! So far, we’ve covered three of thirteen attributes from the Busy Christian Mom Credo. These attributes are part of our identity in Christ once we become believers. Today, we’re talking about our redemption through the lens of humility. Humility is the mindset shift you need to feel worthy of redemption if you are swinging on the pendulum of undeserving versus untouchable.
CLICK PLAY TO LISTEN: EP 5
Let’s address this pendulum before we dive deeper into redemption. Once you cross the line of faith, you are saved once and for all. However, there may be times as you go forward in life that you can sway between feelings of unworthy of God’s love (even though you are now blameless), and feelings of superiority (even though you did absolutely nothing to remove the stain of sin from you).
Undeserving can feel like:
- you’re not worthy of love
- what you’ve done isn’t forgiveable
- the thought of unconditional love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness blows your mind
Untouchable can feel like:
- get out of hell insurance
- license to sin
- carrying yourself like your better than others
Neither of these are good places to be. In fact, with a healthy dose of humility and acceptance of God’s love and forgiveness, you can get out of the whole pendulum complex. Below are three reminders that will help you have the mindset shift you need to feel worthy of redemption.
Reminder #1: A Piece of Humble Pie
Last week we talked about the identity in Christ of being forgiven. Today, we’ll expand a bit to another word you may have heard in church and in Bible verses here and there. Redeemed/redemption. If you’re a follower of Christ, you are redeemed. The good ol Oxford dictionary has a couple of definitions for redeemed:
- 1) to compensate for the faults or bad aspects of something
- 2) to gain or regain possession of something in exchange for payment
Newsflash: We are the ones at fault, we are the “somethings” in these definitions, and Christ is the one who paid the price of the soul exchange. If you’re stuck on this part of the episode, I encourage you to go back to the previous episode, and tune in to hear about the identity of being forgiven and what that can look like for you. Then come back here after.
The more I focus on the following scriptures, learn about the historical context, and imagine what it must have been like, the more humbling being redeemed is for me. I am still shocked and awed that He would willingly go through crucifixion for me! Even when I’m walking around trying to not sin, and still slip up, He’s got my back forever. No matter how bad I mess up, He has paid the price. Same goes for you! Here’s some scripture (just some of many) to back up your identity in Christ as redeemed. Time for a healthy portion of humble pie.
Scripture to back this up:
Romans 3:23-24 says, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.” All of us humans mess up, and somebody has to pay for it. We, as humans, in no way can come close to this payment. God is so gracious and makes a way for us. We are redeemed by Jesus’ blood. He paid the price for all the sinning we do.
Galatians 3:13 says, “But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.’” We are the damsel in distress, and we can’t even save ourselves no matter how hard we try. Jesus willingly, on purpose, sacrificed himself because He loves us so much!
Isaiah 53:5 says, “But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.” If you know anything about the process of crucifixion…it’s one of the worst ways to die. Jesus willingly stepped in, so we don’t have to pay the price. I remember when the Passion of the Christ came out in theaters. Just wow. What He went through was indescribably, horribly intense. I am a super visual learner, so that is forever burned into my brain.
Colossians 1:13-14 says, “For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.” This transfer of funds was Jesus dying so that everyone has the opportunity to get to spend forever with Him. You get to choose because He made a way for this to even be possible. He has rescued us from the unimaginable eternity without Him.
Ephesians 1:7 says, “He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.” God loves us so much that he sacrificed His only son so that we could spend eternity with Him in Heaven. He is so kind and full of grace for us, his kids. While we still outright sin, He already paid for it.
When we can zoom out, reflect, and think of the sacrifice Jesus made, humble and honored is what I feel. I can rest knowing that He loves me so much that He’s willing to redeem me. He does that for everyone who chooses to follow Him. That’s some pretty great humble pie! Humility is the mindset shift you need to feel worthy of redemption. Humble pie for everyone!
Reminder #2: Saul became Paul
All right, let’s time travel back about 2000 years ago to the life of a guy name Paul, well, Saul. Then his name changed to Paul. Here are some bullet points about Saul/Paul that I’ll be pulling from several New Testament places. I encourage you to read about his life to fill in the gaps. Start in Acts 9:
- Saul was a bad dude, and had a bad reputation because of his hobby of killing Christians. Yikes. Not cool man. Sounds like he needs some humble pie too at this point.
- Jesus shined a light down on Saul, hollered at him asking about why Saul was persecuting Him, and temporarily blinded Saul.
- Long story short, again read Acts chapter 9, Saul gets a new mission and a new name. He was redeemed by Christ and now Paul, is on mission to tell the world about how awesome Jesus is.
Paul went from killing Christians to spreading the gospel. He had built a terrifying reputation for himself, and people were afraid at first. Over time, Paul continued to tell others about the good news of Jesus, he began to show fruit that he was a true follower, and went on to write a ton of New Testament books.
If God can take someone as bad as Paul, and then turn his whole life around to do amazing things, He can do that for you too! I am here to say that God works miracles inside our hearts. I have first hand accounts of God transforming my whole life, and when I look back, I can see how far I’ve come.
When you can remember that you are redeemed once and for all through Christ, you begin to transform to look more and more like Him every day. Take a minute and look back on the timeline of your life. When you feel like the refining process is moving slower than the after school pick up line on a rainy day, pause, reflect, and notice how far you’ve come. God is worked in Paul, and He’s working in you.
Reminder #3: Mercy and Grace
Cool, Brooke. I heard the scriptures about redemption, I’ve heard about Saul turning into Paul and then going onto be a New Testament hero, but how does that even look in the 21st century for a busy Christian mom like me? So glad you asked, friend. I feel you.
As we remind ourselves that humility is the mindset shift you need to feel worthy of redemption, let’s give ourselves grace when we do mess up. If you’re struggling with this part, go back one episode, and hear about God’s forgiveness. Then, come back here. God is full of grace and mercy for His kids. It’s unconditional and unending. Let’s follow His lead.
When we can approach redemption with humble reception, we can fully grasp what it truly means to have our souls saved by Jesus. To Jesus, His sacrifice was absolutely worth it. You are worth it! He is faithful to redeem when you accept Him as your savior. Check out this verse in Lamentations:
“The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.”
Lamentations 3:22-23
A few takeaways just from this verse that help us remember that we are worth His sacrifice:
- God’s faithful love never ends
- God’s mercies never end
- His faithfulness is great
- His mercies are new each morning
God loves us and shows us so much mercy that our brains can’t even wrap around the full extent of what He sacrificed for us. When you’re feeling down in the dumps, questioning yourself, and not sure of where you stand, you can rest knowing that your identity is in Christ, and an attribute of that is you are redeemed. He extends unconditional mercy your way. We all make mistakes, but that shouldn’t keep us from fully embracing the mindset of humility of our redemption through Him.
Podcast Recap
Sometimes, we need a bite or two of humble pie to keep us grounded, understanding the full extent of Jesus’ sacrifice for us. Other times, we need to look at redemption stories like Paul’s, where his life is totally transformed. Keeping God as the model of mercy and grace, will help us when we feel like we’re on the pendulum of unworthy or untouchable. Let’s recap our reminders as we walk with humility as the mindset shift you need to feel worthy of redemption:
- Reminder #1: Humble Pie- We are not untouchable
- Reminder #2: Saul Became Paul- We are not unworthy
- Reminder #3: Mercy and Grace- Follow God’s modeling
As you go about your week, walk with humility, and embrace your identity in Christ as a soul who is redeemed once and for all. If you know someone who is struggling with this topic or feelings we touched on today, send them this episode.
Scripture Recap
- Romans 3:23-24
- Galatians 3:13
- Isaiah 53:5
- Colossians 1:13-14
- Ephesians 1:7
- Lamentations 3:22-23
I am the daughter of the King. I am chosen, forgiven, redeemed. I am loved and I belong. I am bold, brave, and strong. I am seen. I’m accepted. I am able. I’m protected. Through Him I can do anything. Because I’m the daughter of the King.
Busy Christian Mom Credo, Brooke Collier
Links from the Show:
