"Remember who you are. You are my son and the one true king. Remember who you are." - Mufasa, (The Lion King)
I love many things about Disney — I am a huge Disney fanatic. I was raised on all of the Disney movies from "The Lion King," "Aladdin," "Beauty and the Beast," all the way down to "The Jungle Book." The one thing I think I loved about all of these loveable films was that they all had a lesson to be learned. "The Lion King" makes a key point in the film, driving home that you should never run from your past or forget who you are. In the climax of "The Lion King," Simba has been told to run away from home by his evil uncle, Scar, (who is responsible for the death of King Mufasa, but tells Simba that he is the one to blame.) Simba runs away, forgetting all about his past and who he is to become. He chooses the simple life in the jungle with his best pals Timon and Pumba. Simba fools himself into thinking that he was never meant to be king. He chooses the life that is comfortable and easy for him. He totally neglects his calling because of fear of his past.
How many times have we, as God's people, forgotten our identity? I have a tendency to run when things get too hard or when life just is not going my way. In a sense, I am a lot like Simba, and I feel like a lot of people could relate. We as human beings relate to fear. We fear about whether or not we will have enough money, be married by 25, have successful careers, or have healthy children. All of these fears and worries cause us to run. When we run, we totally neglect our calling, and we forget who we are. But because of the love we have in Jesus Christ, he does not neglect his children. He knows where we run to and where we hide. God knows who his children are. We are his sheep and he is the shepherd, and he protects his sheep. Here are reminders of who God says you are.
1. You Are His Child
Whenever you accepted Jesus into your heart, he became your heavenly father. Your heavenly father will never leave his children to the wolves of this world. He clings onto his children, and he picks them up when they fall.
"So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith." Galatians 3:26
2. You Are A Victor, Not a Failure
If you are a child of God, then you should be living in victory, not failure. If you see yourself as a failure then you will feel like one. You have to stop thinking about your past and repent to the Lord for the things you have done wrong. Once you do that, leave it alone! God doesn't think about your sins over and over. God has forgiven you, and he will continue to forgive you.
"For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." Hebrews 8:12
3. You Are Fearfully And Wonderfully Made
God created you. He made you just the way you are, and there is no such thing as mistakes. There is no such thing as mistakes in my God's eyes. I know there is something we all wish we could change about ourselves, but when we wish we looked a certain way, we neglect the beauty that is us.
"I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well." Psalm 139:14
4. You Are Accepted
God accepts all of your flaws and mistakes that you have made. He doesn't turn away from you. He doesn't show favoritism. There is nothing that you could do to make God love you any more or any less. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ.
5. You Are Loved
God's love for you is so great. His love exceeds all other love. He will never stop loving you. God loved you so much that he died for you.
"But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved." Ephesians 2:4-5
