Identify crisis is a problem many have grappled with across the ages, and no wonder the popular adage: “know thyself “is always a reckoning. A man who does not know who he is, cannot be who he ought to be, this is also true for the believer. Being a believer, and a born again believer at that, confer on us the responsibility of knowing who we are, whose we are and what has been freely given to us.
First of all being born again is not of blood, neither is it of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. We were born of God through faith in Christ Jesus. It is a different kind of birth, it is spiritual. This is very foundational to knowing who we are.
Since we are spiritual beings through faith in Christ, what defines us is the precious promises that we have in Christ. The Apostle Peter in 1 Peter 1:23 says: “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever”. We are born again by the Word of God, the incorruptible seed. As born again believers who are spiritual beings, we are not defined by the family we were born into or by race or geographical location we were born in but by the Word of God. This is vital to knowing who we are, whose we are and what has been freely given to us. Without this, we cannot be the best that we should be.
Our Lord Jesus Christ knew who He was from the volume of the books, for it is written of Him in Psalm 40: 7-8: “Then I said, “Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me. I delight to do Your will, O my God, And Your law is within my heart.” Our Lord Jesus knew who He was by the Word of God, and He stepped into it, fulfilling His destiny for the benefit of mankind.
Every born again believer, like our Lord Jesus Christ, must be the best they should be, not the best they can. The word of God defines us, it sets a mark of what we should step into and become. Don’t be the best that you can as a believer, be the best that you should be. We should be as the One who has called us into glory and virtue (2 Peter 1: 3). Our Lord Jesus Christ left us a word when He was leaving; He said, “occupy till I come” (Luke 19: 13). Occupy connotes that we are to stand in our place, we are to be the best we should be so we can be a solution, a blessing to the world. Our Lord Jesus did “occupy” in the days of His flesh on earth. He gave sight to the blind, He set captives free, healed all manner of sicknesses, raised the dead, provided wine at a wedding feast and ultimately became the author of eternal salvation to everyone that reposed faith in Him. So, every born again believer should occupy and be the best that they ought to be.
The works that I do and greater works than this shall ye do because I go to the Father still echoes today since those words were first spoken by our Lord in John 14:12 to those that believe in Him. Born again believers are the solution, the blessing the whole of creation is waiting for, as described in the book of Romans; “For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.” (Romans 8:19).
It is time for believers to be the best that they should be by stepping into what has been written of them like our Lord Jesus.
Being the best that we should be does not happen except by prayer and fasting, like our Lord Jesus told the disciples of old in Mark 9:29. He Himself was led into the wilderness to pray and fast for 40 days. More than denying ourselves of food, which has its place, fasting should be a lifestyle and a mindset. We live daily as those that fast and mourn, denying every ungodliness and all worldly lusts, and taking up our cross, prayerfully following after Christ. Many believers live like those who are not in Christ – they will do anything for money, they follow after strange fashion which defy chastity and exhibit the very nature of sin from which Christ has redeemed them.
Believers must remember that they have a crowd of witnesses around them which they must learn from. Men like Joseph known for integrity and faithfulness; Daniel who did not forget his God though he was in the palace; Moses forsook the pleasures of Egypt to identify with God and His people in captivity, Samuel, Mordecai, Esther, Ruth, Paul and many more were examples we should learn from. They were men and women who were the best that they should be. They occupied, they stood in their places and became a solution, a reference point and a blessing to generations. Imagine Joseph not being the best that he should be and not being in the place allotted for him to be used of God. The seven years of famine would have wiped out millions of souls.
Being the best that we should be opens us to the resources of heaven, that is, the spirit of power, of love and a sound mind to make us be a blessing to our generation and to bring redemption to souls. We are a peculiar people meant to bring praise to our God and Father. We are not to live our own life, follow after every fancy of our minds and of the world after that we have been born again. We have such a great treasure in earthen vessels (2 Corinthians 4:7), a great inheritance in Christ through the precious promises given us. It is ours to know the rich inheritance we have in Christ, both in this world and that which is to come. It is our responsibility to live a life that will open us to these treasures to richly enjoy, and also be a solution and a blessing to our generation. The whole creation is earnestly waiting for the manifestation of the children of God, those who will be the best they should be by living by the incorruptible word of God in their hearts and lives.
