Identity: The Key to Impact

By Craig Watson

Your greatest impact will not be a result of your effort and hard work. Your greatest impact will flow from the work Jesus is doing in and through you. Put succinctly, Impact flows from Identity.  

In the Bible, God promises us a new identity, gives us the process for being changed into that identity, and reminds us that it is Jesus’ ongoing presence in us that makes the real impact.  

The Promise

I remember when I found out that my wife was pregnant with our first child. It was the spring of 1997, and I was 25. Having kids was part of the plan at some point but not at that point, and honestly, I was more excited about starting a career than starting a family. Over the course of the following months, my wife was changing… a lot. I did all the things I was supposed to do. I went to doctor appointments, attended baby showers, picked out a name, and set up a nursery, but it wasn’t sinking in for me. It didn’t seem real. I tried to feel different. I wanted to feel different, but I didn’t. 

Regardless of what I may have felt, God had made a promise to me.

Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person.  The old life is gone; a new life has begun!  2 Corinthians 5:17

God promises you much more than a new role or assignment as well. He has promised to make you into a completely new person. He guarantees a new identity.

The Process

Finally, the day came when I was able to hold and look upon that little red-haired ball of wonder for the first time. It was on that day, a Friday afternoon in November, that I became a different person. That day, I became a father, and in a very real way, I stopped being who I was and became someone new.  

My old self has been crucified with Christ.  It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.  So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself to me.  Galatians 2:20

You do not need to embrace this new identity through your own power and effort. Each day, sometimes moment to moment, Jesus will give you the desire and ability to surrender your old ways and your old self to Him. Your role is to trust Jesus and His work as He changes you from the inside out. This is the process God uses to make us new.

The Presence

Even though I had a new identity as a father, I had no idea what I was doing. I wasn’t suddenly filled with the knowledge, understanding, and wisdom that I knew I would need to raise my daughter. What Jesus gave me instead was far more valuable. He gave me Himself, and He gave me this amazing love for my daughter that made meeting her needs one of my greatest joys.  

This is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.  Colossians 1:27

Not only does God promise you a new identity, Jesus will take up residence in you through His Spirit. As you submit yourself to Him, His presence in you changes the world around you for the good.

Embrace Your Jesus-Centered Identity

I didn’t recognize it at the time, but I can look back and see God’s promise, process, and presence in the way He changed a self-confident and self-absorbed young man into a humble and loving father.  He continues to change me and use me as a father, ambassador, and disciple maker, and I find that my greatest impact on the people and the world around me is in simply trusting Him and being what He created me to be.

Do you believe the promise?

Will you embrace the process?

Will you lean into Jesus' presence?