I do not know what a "millennial" is. I'm not even entirely sure what the word means. People have tried to explain it to me. I hear a lot of complaining about millennials. I've been told I'm a millennial. I've been told I'm not. I've been told that I am beautiful, though only if I either live up to certain standards, or by denying their validity, often at the same time. It's very confusing. I've been told I'm stupid, that I'm smart, that I must have something wrong with me, that I'm completely normal. No one can make up their mind. But here's the kicker. What I am is not up for debate.
As a teenager, I am obsessed with my identity, with who I am and what people think of me. And previously I've touched on what it means to me to be a woman but there is something more important that must be brought up, the true final stamp on my identity.
I am a Child of God, baptized into His family by grace through faith. I have been called into new life, not by anything I have done but because God sent His Son to take my sin away and give me the gifts of forgiveness and eternal life. My identity is in Christ. By His death, I am simultaneously a saint and sinner in the eyes of God. I would like to think I hold to the idea of a Christian. Of course, I do not follow all the rules or even come close to it. I'll admit that. Yes, I believe and confirm old fashioned, outdated ideas. I love traditional worship services. I'm going to school to learn to play hymns on a pipe organ, hymns that originated from drinking songs. I'll be taking theology classes. I'll be in a sheltered little nook of Missouri Synod Lutherans.
And yet, there will still be assumptions. Labels I didn't ask for will be placed upon me because you cannot escape commentary. If someone's not commenting and analyzing your actions, you are the one giving labels. And don't say you're above that. We all do it; I do it for fun. But if there's one thing I've learned is that though I fall short of the glory of God, my identity is not in my sin and failures, but in Christ's victory. My identity is in Christ Jesus.
There's a hymn I love that declares all of this. I start out singing with a smile and end up crying with a smile every time we sing it. "God's own child I gladly say it! I am baptized into Christ. He because I could not pay it, paid my full redemption price. Do I need earth's treasures many? I have one worth more than any, that brought me salvation free, lasting to eternity!" I am reminded of this every day. I rely on this throughout my day to day life. My identity is Christ. And no one can take that from me. No word can replace that. Ever.
