Clueless in Liberia

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. Ephesians 1:3-7

Because he was raised in Liberia and went straight from there to college and never had a need nor chance to take driver's training, our son John-Mark did not show up at the DMV for his driver's lisence until he was 22 years old. But if that wasn't embarrassing enough for the poor kid, when he submitted the necessary paperwork of vital information, he found out he didn't exsist. There was no such person as John-Mark Sheppard.

John-Mark in 2004 

It turns out that our Mr. Brainiac, the guy who at twelve years old knew the feeding habits of every animal I could name and the Latin names for orchids I couldn't name, had never bothered to look on his passport and notice that his legal name was not John-Mark Sheppard, but rather John Mark Sheppard. No hyphen. Because we hadn't wanted him to have trouble when filling out computer-programed documents—a double first name and no middle name—we had officially named him John Mark. We thought we were helping him.

John-Mark was not a happy camper. How could he have not known his own name? he asked glumly. But Mark and I were as surprised as John-Mark. After all, we had certainly talked about it around him. And more importantly, his official name—the proof of his true identity—was on every single document he had used to travel around the world since he was three years old. All he had to do was look.

Image stockx.change

But how many times have I been just like John-Mark in my spiritual life. I've had all the information about my true identity right at my fingertips, but either neglected to look or looked so casually it made no impression.

The Bible is replete with information telling me who I am in Christ, yet for years it did not  effect my daily life in the way it should have. Rather than rejoicing in my standing with Christ, I lived in fear of His disapproval. However, when I began to study the Bible with greater enthusiasm and paid more attention to what it actually said, my true identity became clear. I am an adopted child of God, accepted and beloved, because it brings God pleasure.

There couldn't possibly be a more wonderful identification!

John-Mark, Sara, Audrey and Noah outside their home in Voinjama, Liberia—2013

See The Lowest Servant in the Room.

See Am I Gorgeous Yet?

See Why "Casual Christianity" Misses the Point.