Life Verse, by Will

My entire life I've heard people talk about their life verse; I've personally had at least four.

Psalm 23
Psalm 62.5-8
Philippians 3.7-14
Proverbs 3.5-8

These are the only ones that immediately come to my mind, but I'm sure there are more that I've claimed at one point or another.

From what I've gathered over my thirty years in Church, life verses tend to be those that make people feel good or encouraged. They tend to be verses that remind people of a promise God has made, or point to hope for the future. In no way are these things bad. The Bible is a book of theology that tells us who God is. It provides us with a clear view of the nature and character of God, including the promises He has made. It offers hope and encouragement to those who who faithfully obey God, and seek to live according to His will. Specific verses speak to certain people in unique ways; they impact people differently because we are all individuals.

Over the past year, I've really been focused on identity. As I've felt God's leading towards my identity, I've felt the need to find a Scriptural foundation for this identity. Initially, the verse was just something that connected who I feel God is leading me to be to the Bible; however, I've begun to really search this portion of Scripture for what it says about the identity God has given me. This has led me to rethink the concept of a life verse. All of the observations I mentioned are good things, but I feel like a life verse is bigger than each of those.

I feel that a life verse should be a verse that defines your life. This verse is what guides how you seek to live, gives a foundation for how you interpret the rest of the Bible, and relate to God and people. A life verse, as I have come to see it, is a verse that gives definition and focus to your life. I believe that a life verse calls you to be something more than you are. I believe it calls you to grow and develop, to take action and claim who God says you are, and that it points you towards your life mission.

For me, I've started to focus on 1 Peter 5.1-11. In the future, I'll be working through this on my personal blog (click on my picture to the right and it will take you there). This section of Scripture points to who I feel God is telling me I am, and gives me a clear model of what that identity entails. A life verse matters because it doesn't simply offer encouragement, or point to some promise that we grasp as entitlement, it sets a tone for how we will live, and gives a foundation for who we are.

I truly believe that God has a clear identity for each of you, read Revelation 2.17. I just as firmly believe that this identity has a Scriptural foundation that will not only affirm your identity, but lay out the different characteristics that your identity entails.

God is calling you to be who He created you to be, and He hasn't left you with nothing to go on. Your God given identity is rooted in Scripture, and that passage will show you what it means to own your identity. Your life verse will challenge you, and call out who you really are.

TO GOD ALONE BE THE GLORY!