Hello, everyone!  I'd like to talk about who we are as believers in Christ.  First, a quote from my favorite action cartoon, DBZ.  (Trust me, it ties into today's blog)

Gohan: What do I have to do out here, Mr. Piccolo?

Piccolo: Live, Gohan.  Just live.

Gohan: But I don't want to be out here. I'm scared!

Piccolo: (laughs) You'll laugh at your fears when you find out who you really are.

Gohan was the son of Goku, the greatest hero the earth had. Goku was a man of tremendous strength and power, yet at the same time, a gentle man who did not use his power to hurt people or abuse them.  Gohan didn't trust that the same great power was inside him, but his mentor, Piccolo saw it behind the boy's eyes and was determined to bring it out.  There was a great battle ahead and Gohan would be needed. 

We tend to walk around, even as Christians, as if we're nothing more than lumps along for the ride on a big, scary planet.  Our science teachers, books, television and movies have gone to great lengths to convince us that we're not really that important.  We're not much more than star dust collected together by accident over a period of billions of years.  Our lives are trivial, and the earth will forget we were ever around when we're gone.  The Bible tells us a different story.

And the Lord God made man from the dust of the earth, breathing into him the breath of life: and man became a living soul.  Genesis 2:7

And God made man in his image, in the image of God he made him: male and female he made them. Genesis 1:27

God made us in His image...all of us bear the image of The Almighty.  We are creative because He is the Creator.  We feel deeply because He feels deeply. Love, desire, anger, jealousy and an instinctive sense of justice are all part of who we are because God put them there.  They are the essence of our design.  When we sinned, we tainted the image, became mere shadows of what He intended.  Jesus came to restore us to what Adam was before the fall, and even more.  The gift of the Spirit allows us to walk with the authority of Christ on our side. 

For, if by the wrongdoing of one, death was ruling through the one, much more will those to whom has come the wealth of grace and the giving of righteousness, be ruling in life through the one, even Jesus Christ.
So then, as the effect of one act of wrongdoing was that punishment came on all men, even so the effect of one act of righteousness was righteousness of life for all men.
Romans 5:17,18

The sin of our first parents brought death, separation from God and tarnished who we were created to be.  The death and resurrection of Christ can restore us when we make Him our Lord and accept His sacrifice on our behalf.  We become righteous again, spotlessly clean before the throne of God.  We can approach The Almighty with our desires and prayers. Even more than this: we become heirs to Christ and take our place again as princes and princesses on the earth and in Heaven. 

And if we are children, we have a right to a part in the heritage; a part in the things of God, together with Christ; so that if we have a part in his pain, we will in the same way have a part in his glory.  Romans 8:17

And at Lystra there was a certain man, who from birth had been without the use of his feet, never having had the power of walking.
This man was giving ear to the preaching of Paul, who, looking at him, and seeing that he had faith to be made well,
Said in a loud voice, Get up on your feet. And, jumping up, he went walking about.  Acts 14:8-10 

Later on in this account Paul and Barnabas are hailed as gods. They refuse to be worshipped and point people to Christ, in whose Name they were able to perform the miracle.  We can all tap into that Power when we call on the Name of Christ. 

Our old sinful natures are put to death when we make Jesus our Lord, and the silly fears we used to give in to pale in comparison to what we become as joint-heirs in Christ.  Jesus might very well be telling us what Piccolo told Gohan: "You'll laugh at your fears when you find out who you really are."

Claim your birthright and be blessed.  Good night.