“Anne with an E” and our Identity Crisis
Do you recall this scene from LMM’s Anne of Green Gables?
“Will you please call me Cordelia?” she said eagerly.
“Call you Cordelia? Is that your name?”
“No-o-o, it’s not exactly my name, but I would love to be called Cordelia. It’s such a perfectly elegant name.”
“I don’t know what on earth you mean. If Cordelia isn’t your name, what is?”
“Anne Shirley,” ….” Anne is such an unromantic name.”
Identity is the topic of this week’s chapter in our ReFresh Book Study, and this scene of Anne trying to re-invent herself reminds us that we’re often tempted to take on false identities as well.
“Although very few of us are going around conscientiously thinking “Who am I?” all of us are unconsciously answering that question every day of our life. Although we’re usually unaware of it, we are designing and building an identity, a way we think about ourselves and how we want others to think about us too.” ReFresh, pg.102.
Anne with an E was ready to cast off her sensible name and re-invent herself for her new home and new life. She wanted to embrace an identity that conjured up more romance and imagination.
We do the same thing when we define our worth or find our identity in our:
- Roles: wife, mother, teacher, friend, sister, taxi-cab mom, Sunday school teacher, PTA, public school teacher, soccer mom, etc…
- Family: married, unmarried, divorced, single parent, widower, stable family history, unstable family history foster child, adopted,
- Status: rich, poor, influential, disenfranchised
- Political leanings: Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Conservative, Liberal
- Personality: introvert, extrovert, ambivert, bubbly, fun, energetic, shy
- Religion: denomination, ministry wife, deaconess, conscientious dissenter, giftedness, Biblical knowledge, conservative, liberal
We can even become stuck in the rut of self-labeling by our past, our failures, or expected behavior: I’m a disappointment. I’m the good girl. I’m a victim. I’m the strong one. I’m late. I’m stressed. I’m always worried/angry/inconsistent.
Shona mentions several distorted identities (pg. 102-106) and encourages readers to prioritize our identity by our spiritual state first, then our spiritual character. Wouldn’t this be a game changer in our lives if we did this?
Who are we?
First, We are created beings, meant to image Christ. We are image bearers, meant to show this world Christ in our every day actions and interactions. What does that mean?
“Images are designed to image… That’s what they’re for. So the question would be, “Why did God create and erect seven billion images of himself on the planet?” Why did he do that? And surely the simple answer would be to get attention, to draw attention to himself. You don’t put an image of somebody up and hope nobody notices it, hope nobody makes any connection between the image and the reality. You are in the image of God in order to image God, to display God, to show God, that’s what you’re about. That’s your meaning. That’s your identity. You have a nature designed to image.” ~John Piper
In Christ, that’s our identity.
According to Ephesians, we are also:
- blessed (1:3)
- chosen (1:3)
- adopted into God’s family as a son/heir (1:5)
- redeemed by the precious blood of Christ (1:7)
- forgiven of all my sin (1:7)
- lavishly given God’s grace (1:8)
- sealed and secure through the Holy Spirit (1:13, 14)
This is no feel good salve for the insecure woman. This is about our truth as the Bible tells it. We can’t understand our identity without knowing the God who made us.
We must look up–way up–past ourselves and see God, where our story starts. He’s the Sovereign One, and if we want to know ourselves, it has to be in relation to Him, our source. Looking to Him–a long, steady gaze at Him–will cause us to live in the light of our reality. And knowing Him will give us a proper estimation of ourself.
Second, we should evaluate who we are in light of our spiritual character. (godly, ungodly, prefect, carnal, just, unjust.)
- Who am I in comparison to what God’s Word tells me I should be?
- Who am I in my inner man?
- What is my thought life like?
- On what do I meditate?
- Am I charitable in my heart?
- Are my thoughts about others loving?
- Am I content?
- Am I humble?
- Am I teachable?
- Am I submissive?
- Meek? A close look at our thoughts and especially our emotions will tell us what we really value.
- What gets you really riled? Do you get really angry when the poor are mistreated –or are you more apt to have all the feels when you’re own will is crossed? That is who we are in our inner man.
When we prioritize our “being” over our “doing” and “performing” we’ll start cleaning our own spiritual house, reading God’s Word, meditating on His goodness, considering His will and highlighting His goodness and grace.
Christ-awareness changes us.
We’ll put more stock in obedience. We’ll take submission seriously. We’ll being working humbly. Our walk will become worthy, not because we’re working for merit, but because we so highly prize the Savior that we set about to give our life, effort, and all to Him and His kingdom, including His people, the messy, broken, imperfect but cherished church.
When we forget who we were made for and why we were made, when we decide that we’d rather bring attention to ourselves and be the center of our own universe, we’ve failed to image Christ truthfully and we’re living in a false identity.
In short, when we sin, that’s when we need to re-evaluate what identity we are clinging to and take a fresh look at Jesus Christ.
What did you learn from this week’s chapter? Did you find you needed to re-think your identity priorities? Share in the comments.
Refresh: Intro to a Grace-Paced Life.
Rethinking Self-Care. Is it Biblical?
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