The other night I was listening to my daughter read to her younger sister. The book she was reading was A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon. The main character in this book, a little girl, is a big worrier when it comes to others' opinions of her. She tries pleasing everyone she meets, thus becoming a victim of suggestion. Eventually she becomes covered in rainbow stripes as a cause of her insecurity. The little girl later realizes she must be true to herself and she learns to be comfortable in her own skin.

This may seem like a silly children's story, but as I listened, I began thinking of how often we forget our identity as children of God. We live in a high paced society and we wear many "hats" when it comes to the different responsibilities we possess. However, those responsibilities do not define who we are. On the contrary, our true identity in Christ should be what influences how we act while we carry out our daily responsibilities. At times, it is easy to be influenced by the opinions of others and we forget how important we are to God and that His opinion of us is what will matter, not only here on earth, but in eternity. There is a frame I have on our wall that says, "Don't try so hard to fit in when you were born to stand out!" God does not want us to conform to this world and its opinions, instead he wants to transform us to be more like Jesus!   

Once we have accepted our Salvation through Jesus Christ, we need to accept our new identity. Regardless of who we were before knowing Christ, all things are made new the moment we put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ. As a result, anything we do should reflect this new identity. Our lives should be a living testimony of how God called us from darkness into his wonderful light. Through this, others will come to know Jesus and experience this new identity for themselves.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you for sending Jesus Christ to die on the cross to wash away my sins so that I can experience this new identity in you. Thank you because I am chosen, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and your special possession. Allow me to live a life of gratitude by declaring your praises every day. May I be a living testimony that will lead others to you. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. In Jesus' name. Amen."

1.       1 Peter 2:9 (NIV).

Today's Encounter was written by: Crystal B.