Responsibility by Identity
No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you (John 15:15, NKJV)
John 15 is a powerful chapter which has many nuggets for a believer. Each verse as it builds on the previous one gives us good food for the soul about our place in God and His protection as we live in the world. The chapter focuses our attention to the fact that we are connected to the vine, Jesus Christ, that He is our source (John 15:1-3), a foundational message on who we are how and how we are to operate on the earth. It is only by being connected to Jesus Christ that we are victorious in our faith walk. We find our identity in Christ He calls us friends in the above verse and also the children of God (1 John 3:1) by His love alone. That my brethren is who we are, the children of God, we identify our place in God as we belong to Him. Jesus affirms us in above verse that we are friends with God, we are not strangers but heirs, indeed co-heirs with Jesus Christ (Romans 8:17). There is no greater privilege and joy than to know our identity. The world we live in often defines us differently as we are expected to fit in particular boxes of thought and behaviour. The pressure to belong to the world set identities is great but glory to God that we have a revelation of a greater identity and purpose as children of God.
Beloved, it cannot be otherwise, we are Kingdom children and Jesus taught us to pray for the Kingdom of God to be revealed on earth as it is with our Father in heaven (Matthew 6:10). In this verse, I see a responsibility on us to pray and ask the manifestation of God’s Kingdom in the earth. This responsibility comes with the identity of who we are, just as in families there are responsibilities for different members based on their abilities and the needs of others. In the same way, by our position as children of God we have a responsibility towards God, it is duty of our belonging to ensure that the Kingdom of God is not only heard, seen but also grown on the earth. We are to be about our Father’s business which is drawing others to the saving grace of Jesus Christ, we are to be representatives of the Kingdom in all we do and how we do it. God invested in our salvation and identity as His children with the death of Jesus Christ His Son, and He rightly has an expectation on us. Jesus clarified to His disciples that our work is to spread the gospel of the Kingdom. He said this after looking at the crowd and having compassion on them, He noted that the harvest is plentiful but the laborers to do the work are few (Matthew 9:35-38). Brethren, the labourers are those who have tasted the Kingdom of God and are His children, it is us. God has an expectation on us that we do not just enjoy the fruits of being His children, but that we also go out and bring in more to the Kingdom. Our responsibility is to expand the Kingdom of God until the world eventually becomes the Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour. Beloved, we are equipped to deliver on this expectation, we have the Holy Spirit of God as our helper and guide, ours is to walk by faith. By our identity, we are prepared and enabled to carry out the Kingdom business to the glory of God. Let us challenge ourselves to live in response to who God has made us and His divine enabled expectation of us.
Thoughts
How confident are you in your identity in God?
How does this impact your life and relationships?
Are there any ignored areas of your life affecting your identity?
How engaged are you in the Father’s Kingdom business?