“Long lay the world in sin and error pining
‘Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth…”
This line from O, Holy Night has captured me since running across Lindsay Letter’s artwork featuring it (shown below) on Instagram last fall. The more I think on it, the more it’s implications settle within me. And it’s the title and topic I’ve chosen for the women’s conference I am speaking at this weekend because the reality of our identity and worth being tied to Christ’s work and worth is what we all need as anchors for our soul.
Just dwell on this for a moment: The Soul felt its worth when He appeared!
This is a statement of the complete contentment we all long for in regard to feeling secure in who we are and knowing our worth. A peace that often alludes us because of how we try to measure our standing and find significance.
We tend to live as if our identity is based on our performance, our appearance, our accomplishments, our jobs, our finances, our kids’ behavior and/or their accomplishments and the list goes on. And when we look good/do good we feel good about how we see ourselves and how others perceive us, but it’s never lasting. We always need something more, something bigger, something better to fill our insatiable appetite to know we matter. To tag our identity to.
The problem is not in our desire to be validated, feel affirmed, loved or significant. The problem is what we turn to looking for fulfillment and a secure identity – even good things, like being a good mom. But even good things become issues of idolatry when we seek from them what only God can give. In other words, when they become “life” to us.
But what God gave is where we find what it is we want most.
At the cross Jesus died for our sin in our place, but what is often left out though it is as equally important is Jesus also lived the perfect life for us in our place. This means he performed perfectly for us in all the ways we fail. He earned what we could never attain and then credited to us His righteousness. A complete role reversal – He got all of our sin and we got all of His holiness.
Because of this identity exchange God now views those who are in Christ as holy. He sees us as He sees Jesus. And this is our true identity – children of the King, precious in God’s sight, holy and righteous, loved and valued as far as the east is from the west.
There is no other more secure identity than to know who the God of the Universe declared us to be. Living in light of this identity means we don’t have to try to make ourselves better to earn God’s favor and we don’t have to hide or pretend we are without sin, because even our sin does not change God’s view of us.
And the Soul Felt Its Worth.
His appearance on to the scene those 2000+ years ago is what secured our worth. And to know this worth – our worth in Christ -means we don’t have to strive for something more or search for greater significance in anything we do. He bestowed us with infinite worth fully based on what He did. Our job now is to rest in it.
When we do the soul will be set free from fear and worry and keeping up with the Jones’. Becuase the soul anchored to Christ is full and complete without any need to seek an identity from any other sources.
