You sensed that you belonged to something when you were selected for a travel team, made the high school team or signed a national letter of intent. It gave you identity.

Our identity is a big deal – who we belong to, where we came from, what we have in common. It produces a sense of awareness, an anchor to something tangible in a large and diverse world.

Identity creates a sense of belonging when we connect to our ancestry, nationality or family.

When a person believes in Christ and begins a relationship with Him, he or she becomes a child of God, making him or her a part of God's family. God gives that person a new identity.

As a Christian, we are chosen, adopted and transferred to God’s family. We belong.

Similar to the sense of belonging on a sports team, Christ-followers experience a connection with other believers anywhere in the world in any culture because they belong to the same family.

I once spoke at a ministry leadership conference in Europe attended by delegates from 27 countries. Any given meal could be spent with a professional soccer player from South Africa, a former submarine commander (now in sports ministry) from Russia, a professional basketball coach from Mongolia, a soccer chaplain from Ghana, or a national ministry leader from Guatemala.

We shared a common identity – we belonged to the same family. It affected the way we connected to each other.

Being in God’s family is just the start of a new identity. As we follow Christ, He will continue to shape our lives to reflect our identity with Him. Check out the rest of this week’s devotionals – they will expand what our identity looks like as Christ-followers.

Wrestling with who you are? Take a look at Ephesians 1 and Colossians 1. The chapters are packed with details of your new identity in Christ.