Identity Shift

When I was little, I loved The Sound of Music.  (Mmm, still do.)  Back then, we pretended to be the Von Trapp children... I would play the part of Liesl, mostly because she was the oldest, and Rach would play Luisa because she thought she was pretty.

Now that I've grown up, I tend to identify far more with Maria than Liesl when I watch that movie, a natural and healthy perspective shift that came with growth.  I appreciate Maria's vibrant spirit and gentle wisdom and some of her key lines -- "I can't ask him to be less than he is" being my absolute favorite.

When I hear the gospel stories, I have always identified with the disciples, the people asking Jesus deeper questions, the people being healed, and/or the group of women surrounding Him...

I think about what it would be like to hear the Sermon on the Mount, listening to Jesus right there in person.  Or to touch His robe and feel the sudden, miraculous healing from something that had plagued me for years.  Or to watch a crowd of men who planned to publicly stone me walk away one by one, then hear Him tell me I am completely forgiven, to "go and sin no more."  I've imagined being paralyzed and carried over and lowered into the room by my closest friends, then walking out of that room arm in arm with them, healed and whole and filled with joy and hope.  I think about how easily mob mentality can spread, and what it would feel like to be in the midst of the angry mob being riled up by the priests to turn against Jesus on the day He died.  And I think about Mary pondering all she hears about her son and holding it closely in her heart.

When I hear the parable of the Prodigal Son, I have gone back and forth on identifying with the rebellious younger brother in some areas and the resentful older brother in others.  Over and over again, I have identified with the flawed people standing near Jesus or walking with Him.  The people who are being healed, forgiven, changed, and set free.

And none of that was wrong - there has been tremendous value and growth in that for me.

Yet God is giving me eyes to see these familiar stories from a new perspective...

Dr. Philip gave a devotional on Sunday morning during our CCU Residency.  She talked about the leper (who had been a societal outcast for years) being healed and welcomed back into society.  And just as I was imagining myself in the shoes of the rejected outcast finally feeling real acceptance, she threw in: "God is calling us to identify with Jesus in this story."

And I felt that resonate in my spirit.

Truly paradigm shifting.

She went on to say, "In Jesus' eyes, no one was untouchable, and it should be the same for us as counselors -- every client is endowed with dignity, value, and worth!"

I've thought a lot about how Jesus understands me in my weaknesses... but not enough about how I can understand Him and step into His strength.

From a place of growing spiritual maturity, and without being grandiose or absurd in the way I think about it, what if I begin to picture these powerful gospel stories from the viewpoint of Jesus Christ... 

To stand on the mountain, teaching a large crowd of people who are listening intently, transforming their broken and outdated perspective with life-changing new truth, speaking deliberately with God-given confidence and authority, "quite unlike their teachers of religious law."  What if I faced relentless questions from people (some genuine, some trying to trip me up), but I took my time and prayed about what to say before offering them a thoughtful response?

Rather than picturing myself as the outcast in need of healing, what if I begin to see myself playing an active role in healing others and welcoming the outcasts back in?  What if I am not the humiliated woman being shunned and shamed by arrogant men, but rather the "line-in-the-sand" gentle leader speaking compassionate truth in love that empowers, elevates, and frees her?  What if, instead of being the older brother or the prodigal son, I look at it through the eyes of the loving father who values them both, gives generously, shows uncommon mercy, celebrates repentance, and shares everything He has with the one who has served Him well?  What if we no longer see ourselves in the crippled man being healed at the Pool of Bethesda, but instead identify with the only One in the crowd who wasn't indifferent or dismissive of his pain, approaching and gently asking him: "Do you want to be well?"

Imitating Jesus means consistently seeking God's approval more than people's. 

It means: 

• Prioritizing people's eternal destiny and relationship with God over whether they will stay in relationship with me.  
• Enjoying close relationships but never fully entrusting myself to another flawed human being.  
• Walking with God-given authority and strength, letting go of timidity and fear.  
• Taking time alone regularly to pray and stay closely connected to God.  
• Using stories and metaphors to make God's Kingdom more real to people.  
• Contented singleness, strong friendships, forgiving betrayal, powerful teaching, truth in love, and being willing to suffer unjustly if God can use my pain to help others.
• Valuing the poor and the outcast, speaking up for children, and being misunderstood by people on every side so often it's almost comical.
• Expressing my personal desires to God, but following that right up with a sincere, "May Your will be done."
• Bringing life and light into this dark world while facing constant attacks from the enemy.  
• Quoting Scripture in the face of temptation, patient silence in the face of false accusations, and choosing forgiveness in the face of those causing me deep pain. 
• Mercy over judgment, love over fear, and sacrifice over self-care.  
• Trusting God deeply and knowing there is always more happening around me than what meets the natural eye.  
• Honestly wondering where God is during my deepest pain and agony, but maintaining a sense of Kingdom purpose.
• Entrusting my soul to God alone and fixing my eyes on the eternal reward set before me!

It is a higher calling and responsibility, and it is a deeper new way of looking at these very familiar gospel stories for me.  I'm not sure why this particular phrasing struck a chord with me - I know we are called to be Christlike and to be His ambassadors.  This concept feels more powerful than using my human perspective to imagine "What would Jesus do" if He were walking in my shoes.  It is reading the real accounts of His earthly life and intentionally thinking though "What DID Jesus do?" and putting myself there in His shoes... then identifying with Him and emulating Him in new ways as I live from that perspective, believing I can be an agent of real change and unshakable hope!

In counseling and in daily life and relationships, I want to remember this revelation and start to play a more active role in seeing people transformed by God's power working in me and through me.

.......

God is calling us to identify with Jesus. ❤

Gracious, count me in.