Identity…

August 16

Today, I ran across the strangest of stories.

There is a young European woman that took a childhood fascination and turned it into reality. You may have heard of her… she is known as the “real-life Barbie.”

Her life’s passion is to be an exact life-size replica of the famous child’s doll.

Now, if you have ever really looked at a Barbie doll, the first thing you notice is that her body shape is not very… realistic. One report “upscaled” her body measurements to be… 5’9″ tall, have a 39″ bust, an 18″ waist, 33″ hips; wear a size 3 shoe; and weigh approximately 110 pounds. In fact, most have concluded that her body shape would be extremely difficult to achieve – some would say, even impossible.

But enter the power of the human mind and the relentless capability of the human will – and you get a 28-year-old “real-life Barbie.”

When you learn what she had to do to accomplish her dream, you are both shocked and amazed. The plastic surgeries are obvious. But to obtain such an unbelievably hour-glass waist, many have concluded that she likely had to have some of her lower ribs surgically removed.

And as for her diet… mostly liquids. She has even claimed attempts at becoming a “breatharian” – which is exactly like it sounds… she attempts to sustain her body’s physical needs by simply practicing special breathing techniques.

I won’t go into all the other aspects of the story (believe me, it gets weirder and weirder!). It is not my point to comment on this person (either positively or negatively). It is my intention to point out the fact of how important identity is to each of us… How our need for identity is deep within our DNA – and how some people surface, from time to time, to draw our attention to this fact.

It may not be our passion to identify with a Barbie doll, but there is something at work deep within each of us that cannot be ignored.

We are all longing to be known… and to be known for something that matters. We do not want to live out our lives as a face in the crowd – to breathe our final breath having never been significant… ever.

This is what is so exciting about life in Jesus. Our Creator designed us to BE significant – to have an identity that is tied to His purpose for our lives. And that identity brings a fresh revelation of His Own Character to everyone we meet.

We are each brought into relationship with God, through Jesus, to bring a unique revelation of Him, through our lives. God takes away the old identity (as a sinner, as unrighteous, as an enemy of God, as a self-serving, self-destructive mess) and gives us a new identity (as a holy, righteous, friend of God; as a God-loving, people-loving grace-bearer). What was old and ordinary… is now new and exciting. We ARE new creations in Christ Jesus!

And that gives us a significance in every day of our lives… And makes us supremely significant to the One Person Who matters most.

Prayer Focus: God, grant that I would have a fresh revelation of my identity in You… and of Your significant purpose in and through my life.

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