This week’s devotions are based on “Rooted: Finding My Identity in Christ: I am chosen! (WATCH HERE)
“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.” Ephesians 1:4
Most mornings begin the same way. We walk into the bathroom, flip on the light, and look into the mirror. Almost instinctively our eyes notice what has changed. We see the tired eyes after a restless night, the gray hairs that weren’t there a few years ago, the wrinkles that seem a little deeper, or the imperfections we wish we could hide. The mirror tells us what we look like, but it cannot tell us who we are.
The world offers many mirrors besides the one hanging on our wall. Success becomes a mirror. Social media becomes a mirror. The opinions of friends, coworkers, and even family become mirrors. We begin measuring our worth by how productive we were today, how well our children behaved, how many people noticed our accomplishments, or how often we failed. Those mirrors constantly change, and so does the identity they reflect. One day we feel valuable. The next day we feel like we don’t measure up.
God gives us a different mirror.
Before you were born, before you had done anything good or bad, before the world itself existed, your heavenly Father had already set His love upon you in Christ. Paul writes that God “chose us in him before the creation of the world.” That means your identity did not begin with your performance. It began in the gracious heart of God.
Martin Luther often encouraged Christians to remember their Baptism, not because the water itself was magical, but because there God placed His name upon them and declared them to be His own through Christ. When doubts came, Luther would remind himself, “I am baptized.” He was reminding himself that God’s promise was more dependable than his feelings. The same is true for us. When we look in the mirror, we can remember something even greater than our reflection. We remember that we have been clothed with Christ. We have been chosen by grace, redeemed by His blood, and claimed as God’s beloved children.
That truth changes how we begin each day. We no longer wake up wondering if we are enough. We no longer have to spend the day trying to earn God’s approval. In Christ, we already have it. Our good works become joyful acts of gratitude rather than desperate attempts to prove our worth. We serve because we are loved, not so that we might become lovable.
Tomorrow morning, when you stand in front of the mirror, pause for just a moment before your mind begins to criticize what it sees. Instead, remember what God sees. He sees someone chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. He sees someone washed in Baptism, forgiven by the blood of Jesus, and filled with the Holy Spirit. He sees His dearly loved child.
Look in the mirror, and then look by faith to Christ. There you will discover your truest identity.
Reflect: What “mirror” do you find yourself looking into most often to determine your worth—your accomplishments, the opinions of others, your failures, or something else? How does God’s declaration that you are chosen in Christ challenge that way of thinking?
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for choosing me in Christ before the foundation of the world. When I am tempted to define myself by my appearance, my accomplishments, or my failures, remind me that my identity rests securely in Your grace alone. Help me begin each day confident that I am Your forgiven and dearly loved child through Jesus Christ my Savior. Amen.