Think Again!

Introduction • 13

God to forge you, it doesn’t mean you lose your personality or distinctiveness. Your are not cloned . God will reshape and transform you to live a Christian life that honors God and is true to yourself. You discover your calling and vocation, finding where you are on the map of life. Like the super heroes of comic book fame, in Christ you find your “true identity.” As one of our leadership students from prison said, “In Christ, I met myself for the first time. I was existing, but now I’m living.”

When God forges your identity, you realize you are much more than you appear to be.

Free at Last! This realization provides confidence and joy! “Finding yourself” is not your responsibility. By allowing God to forge your identity in Christ, you can enjoy everything he provides for you (Chevys, Dodgers, photography, Myers-Briggs, Mountain Dew), without it defining you . When you no longer have to find yourself, you will be released from slavery to freedom. You can stand on another soil, breath another air, and look up to another sky. Your life motives can change, making your inward drives brand new. 8 But securing this freedom is not easy, and it doesn’t come in one fell swoop. Forging you into the character of Christ is a long and arduous process, superintended by the Spirit. For many, the process of deep, inward change is not desirable. We want instant change, and when we can’t find it, we prefer to escape the problems of life through wealth, relationships, prestige, drugs, pornography, or shopping. You can find your identity , or you can allow God to forge your identity . Finding or forging, that is the question. If you are ready to say “yes” to the Spirit’s forging work, the next chapters will be helpful.