What Are You Defined By?

Earlier today I went in for an interview for a job this summer. Whenever you go into interview with someone, it's your time to tell your story, to reveal who you are. It's a chance to give light to your best qualities and to show the person you're interviewing with why the person that you have become is someone that they want working for them.

I was talking with a mom whom I was looking to nanny for and as we got to know each other and started to get more comfortable, she revealed to me that she was a Christian and that after creeping on my Facebook profile (I don't know why that made me so happy), was excited to see that I was a Christian as well because that was something that was important for her boys to be exposed to.

I left the meeting excited about the common ground that we shared, but as I was driving home, my spirit started to stir in my chest and God's still, small voice spoke to my heart with the question,

"How did you just define yourself?"

For me that was one of those moments where God kind of hits you with a reality check! Because as I was sitting in my car thinking back to that interview, I couldn't deny the fact that Jesus, the greatest thing that has ever happened to me and the one thing that I have claimed to be the most important thing in my life, was not something I had planned on or even thought of mentioning to this woman that I was interviewing with.

So, because of this I had to stop and ask myself..

What are you defined by?

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When people meet you, when people get to know you, when they look at your online profiles or your pictures, or your life, how do they define you? When you introduce yourself, how do you define yourself to others?

Typically the way we define ourselves is by the things we're most involved with, the things that are of the utmost importance in our lives. Maybe it's your sport or your activity, maybe it's your profession. Maybe it's your title as a mom/dad or husband/wife or even the people you surround yourself with. Maybe it's your achievements or awards, or something you've worked so hard for. Maybe it's your sorority or your college. Maybe it's the amount of money you have or the type of car you drive. Maybe it's your education, your popularity, or even the amount of service you do.

Regardless of what it is, there is always something we use to define ourselves, there's always something we use to show the world who we are. The funny thing is, as Christians, a lot of the times we get so caught up in this world, so caught up in our life, our dreams and our plans that we forget the most important defining factor in our lives, the one thing that defines everything about us. The one thing that defines our future, that defines our actions and our decisions, that defines our life and our plans.. and that is Jesus Christ.

Now don't get me wrong, living a life for Jesus is not the easiest thing in the world to do. For those of you that have read my blog Dear Lonely Girl, or even my testimony, know that I am human just like each and every one of us and have defined my life both by a sport and a boy. But humor me and take a second and look at your life and ask yourself this question...

What do you define yourself by?

For those of you that don't know me, I was a competitive cheerleader on a very desired and prestigious team, especially throughout high school and because of it, I started to get a lot of attention from it. My junior and senior year I became a model and eventually the cover for the Varsity Design book which is one of the top and very well known brands in cheerleading. Now I don't tell you this to brag, not a bit of that was achieved on my own, it was fully by the hands and the grace of God that i've achieved anything that I have in my lifetime. But what I am saying is that it started to give me a lot of followers and a lot of people started to know my name. Later on I went on to become a Baylor Cheerleader and the attention continued to grow. I had a lot of people looking to me, a lot of young girls especially, that live in a world where people point to themselves, where people point to their own ability. It was then that I decided what kind of example I wanted to be and what I was going to be defined by.

I decided that when people saw me, I didn't want them to see the team I was on, I didn't want them to see who I modeled for, I didn't want them to see me for my ability, I wanted them to see me for who I am in Jesus Christ and who it is that I belong to. Who it is that we all belong to!

It was today as I was leaving my interview that I realized what I had slowly started to move away from. I'm not saying that when I walked into my interview that I should've immediately started with the fact that I was a Christian and throw it in someones face. No, there are plenty of ways to reveal yourself as a Christian to others that is not offensive to those around you, especially to those who have not committed their lives to Jesus. What I am saying is that, loving Jesus Christ and being a daughter of our amazing Savior and King is the greatest and most important defining factor of my life and who I am! It is not only what I want people to see in me, but as a follower of Jesus Christ is something that we are called to live out and share with the rest of the world around us.

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." -1 Peter 2:9

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” - Jeremiah 1:5

"So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. - Genesis 1:27

We are not defined by the things that we have or the things that we do, we're defined by our beautiful and mighty Savior who has made us in the image of Himself! Since before we were born we were set apart and created to love and glorify the one and only person in this world that has always provided, protected, disciplined, strengthened, comforted and filled us completely and consistently.

Some of you are like me in that we have gotten away from what it is that truly matters in our lives. We say that we're Christians and that we love and serve the Lord but when people define us, when others look at our lives, or when we seek to reveal ourselves to others, what is it that we define ourselves by? What is it that we point to? Do we point to the things of this world just like everyone else, or do we point to the fact that we are children of the one true King? Do we point to our own ability and our own achievements, or do we point to the might and power that we have in the name of Jesus Christ? Do we point to the beauty of the flesh or do we point to the beauty of the Holy Spirit radiating inside of us?

It's time we start pointing people and even ourselves back to the only thing that matters.

The only person in this world that can heal us, that can mold us, that can protect us, that can lift us up, that can bring about His glory in our lives, that can make us whole, that can save us. The only person that daily, even hourly, can save us from our fear, our pride, our mistakes, our shortcomings, our faults, our desires, our pain, our anxiety, and our failures. Nothing else in this world can do that, it's only temporary. It's time that we define ourselves by the one that we run to, the one that picks us up when we fall, the one that heals us when we're broken. The only one that has gotten us through this life and has made us the person we are today.

It's time to define ourselves as Children of God. As lovers and servants of our Savior Jesus Christ.