Transitions are inevitable, and most are similar in that they offer changes, challenges, and choices. These opportunities stretch us into new realities and responsibilities. My youngest son, Nathan, recently passed a significant life milestone: he is a licensed driver now…on his own, behind the wheel with no Mom or Dad sitting beside him offering directions or corrections. Yikes! His state of independence has just reached a whole new level! But privilege comes with responsibility. The license says he has passed the test, but the tests don’t stop, and every time he’s on the road, the testing continues.
At this stage, tests are a normal part of your college life. You earn grades. And you’ve been measured, evaluated, sorted based on those grades. In the job search, you have likely been evaluated alongside other deserving candidates. Maybe you’re able to interview well and can speak with confidence about your accomplishments and abilities. On the other hand, you may be fighting a losing battle against those jitters and hope that the next interview turns out differently. Either way, the result seems to lie mostly with our performance, and our identity often becomes intertwined with these successes and failures.
Measuring success by ability and performance is not new cultural phenomenon. In fact, we have much to glean from an individual who found himself in another performance-based culture: 7th century Babylon. If you spent any time around a church, you’ve probably heard stories about a man named Daniel who spent a night in a lion’s den. As young man, Daniel lived in Jerusalem before it was attacked and defeated by the Babylonian army. In Daniel 1:3-4, the King of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, orders his chief court official to bring some of the best and brightest Israelite men to him; he was looking for “young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand and qualified to serve in the king’s palace.” He wanted prize recruits, and Daniel made the cut! Once under new rule, Daniel went through three years of training in “the Babylonian Way.”
This training oriented him and others in the Babylonian language, literature and culture. It even included a new diet plan, which is where “Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine” (Daniel 1:8). Though Daniel was a high-level recruit based upon his abilities, his identity did not come from his performance. He found his true identity in being a devoted Hebrew follower of God. Resolve is a strong word. Other translations use words like “made up his mind” and “determined” to define this word. Daniel’s resolve was a result of his relationship with God – a relationship that brought Daniel and his three friends favor before the king and protection while spending a night in a lion’s den!
As you transition out of college, you will enter a competitive world. Rather than trusting in your performance, trust in your identity in Christ. God’s opinion of you is the one that ultimately counts. This is simple but certainly not easy. You’ll bump up against persistent challenges, but, like Daniel, may you choose to drive a stake into the ground, a line in the sand. Resolve what you will and will not do—now. Make the decision before the choice. What values or principles will you refuse to compromise, even if the opportunity to do so presents itself? Decide now. How will you claim your identity in Christ in a world that wants us to prove ourselves with our accomplishments? Performance-based identity is fragile and fleeting. Ask most athletes. They will have stories of roller-coaster experiences where everything rides on the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately expectations of loyal fans. Resolve to explore the identity that Christ has made possible for us. No matter what the change, challenge, or choice we face, our identity remains the same: perfect in Christ, beloved child of the One True King.
Who Am I? Check out this list of truths that define Christ-followers. By Neil Anderson