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This article is a sneak peek into Who Am I And Why Do I Matter? by Chris Morphew which helps kids and tweens grow in their faith and confidence by looking at what the Bible says about their identity. The book is available in both paperback and ebook formats. Check out the Big Questions series for more books giving kids Biblical answers to big questions about God
We usually think of freedom as the opposite of following rules—but God says that true freedom comes from letting him rule and guide us.
Which, at first, might seem kind of upside down.
But when you think about it, we already get that this is true in plenty of other parts of our lives.
Identity tip for tweens #1: We usually think of freedom as the opposite of following rules—but God says that true freedom comes from letting him rule and guide us.
Take sleep, for example. Your body needs a decent amount of sleep each night in order to stay healthy.
You can ignore that reality if you want to. You can keep chugging down coffee and energy drinks, keep slapping yourself in the face every time your eyes get heavy—but it’s not going to end well for you.
Ignoring your body’s need for sleep might feel like freedom in the short term—but eventually, it’s going to destroy your freedom. It’s going to ruin you both physically and mentally, because your body is designed to sleep.
Same deal with food. Your body needs proper nutrition in order to thrive.
Again, you can ignore that reality if you want to. And living on burgers and fries might feel like freedom at first—but eventually, it’s going to ruin you. That kind of diet is going to mess you up, because your body is designed for proper nutrition.
If you want lasting health and freedom, you’re not going to find it by ignoring the things you need to survive. You’re going to find it by embracing reality.
You were designed to thrive on sleep.
You were designed to thrive on real food.
And what God is saying here is that, on an even deeper level, you were designed to thrive on his love and care and guidance.
Identity tip for tweens #2: As upside down as it might seem at first, when God invites us to make him the most important thing in our lives, he’s inviting us on the journey to become our truest, freest selves.
God is the one who made you—and so figuring out who he is and figuring out who you are go hand in hand.
The reason trying to invent an identity for ourselves feels so exhausting is that we were never meant to invent our identities in the first place.
Your true identity and worth isn’t something you need to create or earn or piece together on your own. It’s something God gives you—something he wants to help you discover as you put him at the centre of your life.
God isn’t asking you to throw away your freedom and follow him. He’s asking you to follow him so that he can guide you into freedom—into the true life and meaning and purpose that he created you for.
And even though it might sound like God is saying, Love me more, and love your friends and your family and your life less, that’s not what he’s asking you to do at all!
In fact, it’s the complete opposite.
God knows that when we put him first—when we let him fill our lives with the love and joy and meaning and purpose we’re all searching for—we’ll be able to love our friends and family way better than we’d ever be able to love them without his help.
And putting God first will also free us to find a “healthy balance”—to enjoy our money and our achievements and all the other good gifts God gives us without becoming obsessed with them.
Identity tips for tweens #3: The reason trying to invent an identity for ourselves feels so exhausting is that we were never meant to invent our identities in the first place.
As upside down as it might seem at first, when God invites us to make him the most important thing in our lives, he’s inviting us on the journey to become our truest, freest selves.
Which brings us to our next question: who is our truest, freest self, exactly?
Who does God actually say we are?
Chris Morphew is an author, teacher, and school chaplain living in Sydney, Australia. He's the author of the Big Questions series, as well as over 20 novels for children and youth, including his six-book young-adult series The Phoenix Files. Chris enjoys Mario Kart, obscure board games, and superhero movies. He has been told he looks like Chris Hemsworth from the back.
