Labelled

A few years ago, a friend approached my husband in the arena lobby.  Just two red-blooded hockey dads shooting the breeze between periods.

“New jeans?”

“Ya.”

Stop right there.  Friends, I don’t know about your man, but my hubby is no fashionista.  He’s not a fan of Project Runway or a subscriber to Vogue magazine. Come to think about it, I had never overheard him speak a word about clothing design or popular trends.  Perhaps this should have been the first clue.

“What are they?  34 x 30?” His buddy continued.

What in the world?

Soon, we discovered the tell-tale jean label stuck to the leg of Ricky’s new pants, advertising his girth for all the world to see.  Less troubling for a guy, it seems.  I’d die.

Has this ever happened to you?  You exit an event and learn hours later that you’re still sporting the nifty “Hi, my name is…” sticker, left chest.

That’s the thing about labels.  They don’t always fall away, we have to intentionally peel them off.

What labels are you wearing today?   Mom? Friend? First-born? Listener? Debater? Failure?  We all wear them, invisible to the naked eye yet powerful to sway our self-conception.

Without much thought, we stick these tags on ourselves and on others.  They may be birthed in reality, but oftentimes I’m tempted to associate misplaced traits to these descriptors.

Follow me here:

Divorced = Unlovable
Older = Out of touch
Unemployed = Loser
Infertile = Hopeless
Bored = Rejected
Do you get the picture?

Listen, sister our situation does not determine our identity.  By rights, the One who created us gets to decide who we are. 

Imagine moulding cool clay between your fingers.  Carefully and thoughtfully forming your work of art, patiently sculpting the intricate treasure.  Does the masterpiece decide its’ own identity?  Of course not! The designer himself determines this.

God, our Creator has decided who we are. Here are some remarkable labels He’s given you:

• Fearfully and wonderfully made.
  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. (Psalm 139:14)
• A new creation
   Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
  (2 Corinthians 5:17)
• Holy and dearly loved
  Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience (Colossians 3:12)
• God’s child
  But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, (John 1:12)
• His workmanship
   For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10)
• Adopted
  he predestined us for adoption to himself as (daughters) through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, (Ephesians 1:5)
• And so many more.

Let’s inspect the tags we’re wearing and compare them to what God says is true.  And the sticky, ugly lie labels? We need to peel them off and replace them with bright, new accurate nametags. 

Hi, I’m Tess.  Forgiven and Free.

♥ Tess