So you’ve begun to discover your true identity in Christ? Here’s a wild idea as far as what to do with that discovery…

Serve the Bride.

Seriously! It’s fun and fulfilling! Find a local church and serve there. Start a small group. Or go to one that already exists and just be a faithful presence there. Or do a weekly Bible study with some friends. Serving the Bride of Jesus is such a natural overflow of having God’s happy holiness in your life. And it’s obnoxiously simple.

It also helps reveal the gold in us. Our true identity is not attained, earned, or created. And yet, the revelation of that identity involves a journey, and that journey involves people, especially those of faith. This is what “sharpens” us, as the good old Proverb says. Being around other believers challenges us and helps us shake off our offenses and presumptions that aren’t of Him and were never meant to be on us in the first place. In the book of Acts, whenever someone became a believer, they always became a part of a local fellowship of other believers. This was essential. We were never meant to live life isolated.

Now all of that said, I want to say that I absolutely believe we are meant to have complete joy from God alone, and that our individual relationship with the Father is what satisfies us and sets us free. But there is truly an overflow of this joy and freedom which comes simply by being with other believers. 

If you’ve ever watched NBC’s The Office, there’s a great scene in the seventh episode of the seventh season (we like that number here at Elisha’s Riddle). There, the beloved and awkward Michael Scott, played by Steve Carell, attends a church service for the christening of Jim and Pam’s baby. These are two of the main characters in the show who have a beautiful story arc in their love for each other. (In fact much can be said about their relationship and the relationship between Christ and His Bride, especially toward the end of the entire show when the love of 1 Corinthians 13 is spoken over them…but that’s for another article.)

In this particular episode, Michael starts to see how friendly and awesome church people are as they celebrate the life of Jim and Pam’s baby. In the midst of these churchgoers, Michael starts to feel so much joy that he tells the camera, “Call it the Holy Spirit or the passion of the Christ, I am loving these people!”

What a great statement. It highlights what’s underneath this call to “serve” the Bride of Christ. It’s about loving these people. This is what comes out of the abundance of our joy in the Lord, and the great discovery of our wondrous, changeless identity in Him.