I like the movie Spanglish. Not only because it is PG-13, but also because it shows many complexities of life and it does a fabulous job displaying how our values shape who we are and what we do.
I hope you’ve seen the movie, because I might be about to spoil it for you. Near the end of the movie, the narrator (which is the voice of the daughter in the movie after she’s grown up) says this amazing line,
I’ve been overwhelmed by your encouragement to apply to your university and your list of scholarships available to me. Though, as I hope this essay shows, your acceptance, while it would thrill me, will not define me. My identity rests firmly and happily on one fact: I am my mother’s daughter.
What would life be like for me if I my identity rested firmly and happily on the fact that I am my Father’s daughter?
The scriptwriters for this movie capture the essence of the Christian life: Learning to live “firmly and happily” in our identity in Christ, not being defined by the approval of man.
Do you get that?
What kinds of choices would you make if your identity were wrapped up in the love of a Father who sacrificed his son to purchase you?
What kind of confidence would you have if your entire identity was wrapped up in your adoption through Christ?
What would life look like if you were defined by pleasing God rather than man?
Where does your identity rest?