Our society tells us to be authentic. It tells us to be ourselves; wear what feels right, say what feels right, act the way you feel is right. “Be true to yourself,” they say. And I’m not saying this is necessarily wrong and that you shouldn’t be yourself, but what I am saying is this: sometimes we get so caught up in trying to be authentically ourselves that we forget that that also means being authentically God’s child. That is who we are first and foremost. 

Psalm 103:13-19 reads, “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children, to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments. The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.”

This passage gives us examples of properties of our identity as children of the Lord. 

Verses 13-14 say, “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.” 

One of those properties we contain as God’s children is this: God knows us. He knows who we are in our inner most being, and He loves us, and shows us compassion. He knows the desires of our heart, and He knows that as humans, we tend to turn towards sin instead of towards Him. But as long as we fear Him, as it says in the text, He shows us compassion. God-fearing Christians are shown compassion by God, because He knows us and our hearts. 

Verses 15-18, “As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children, to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments.” 

A second trait of a child of God is this, we are covered in His love and His righteousness, so long as we obey Him. I seriously doubt that there is anyone out there who hates to feel loved. Feeling loved is something we crave as humans. Yes, there are days where you might think it’d be easier to not have anyone love you, for whatever reason, but in the end, love is something we all need and it is something we all can have. We can be covered in the love of the Lord if we follow Him. At our weakest points, we have His love, and in our best moments, we have His love. It says here that it is everlasting to everlasting. So how can someone be covered in that much love and it not be evident in their life? I think it would have to be overwhelmingly evident, right? As those who are covered in the love of our Almighty God, His love should be an obvious part of who we are. We are loved by Him, that is who we are. 

Verse 19 reads, “The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.” 

This last verse tells us that we are daughters of the King. “His kingdom rules over all,” not just here and there, not just where people acknowledge Him, not just in heaven. He rules over ALL. And we are His children. When you are getting to know someone and they ask about you and your life, I wonder how many of us think to add this in our description. I know for me personally, I will tell about my hobbies, my favorite school subject, etc.. before I bring up God. And it’s not really intentional, but I think it is because we tend to separate the physical parts of our lives from the spiritual. But the thing is, if history is my favorite subject in school, that’s great, but is who we are as God’s children not more important than that? We are the daughters of the King. That is our identity. 

Being authentic to who you are does not mean leaving God out of the equation. In fact, He is there whether you acknowledge it or not. As God’ children, the fact that we are His children is the base of our identity. He is our creator and our cornerstone. Your devotion to Him should shine in all aspects of your life because it is who we all are. As His children, every aspect of who we are is known by Him. Because we choose to obey Him, we are covered in His love, and as long as we fear Him, and let Him lead our lives, we get to call ourselves daughters of the King. That is who we are. Our most true and authentic selves are who we are as His children. 

 

By: Makaley Waide