Branded

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I bear on my body the brand-marks of Jesus. — Galatians 6:17

“Hi, I’m Jocelyn.” I was one of several new military wives being welcomed to the unit with a potluck luncheon. Already unsure of myself in this “new” world, I was completely taken aback when my introduction of myself was countered with, “Oh, don’t bother telling us your name. You’re the XO’s (Executive Officer) wife, and that’s all you’ll ever be to us.” She then suggested that she would buy a T-shirt for me emblazoned with “XO’s wife” so no one would ever need to wonder.

My husband’s title had just branded me for the duration of my time in this tiny town in Alaska. Perhaps I should have expected it, but I was frustrated. I wanted to be identified for who I was, not for what my husband did for a living.

And then I realized something else: instead of seeking to declare my identity as an individual, I really should have been more concerned with staking my identity in Christ. What truly matters is who I am—who we are—in Christ.

National Guard wife Amy MacLeod says, “Although it is not always easy, I must see myself through the lens of Jesus. His blood has washed me, and I am a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) fully pleasing to God. I am loved by God with a love that surpasses knowledge (Ephesians 3:18,19). I am beautiful because a holy, perfect God formed me in my mother’s womb (Psalm 139:15). I am strong because the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in me (Romans 8:11). I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13). I have a purpose (Ephesians 2:10) and I am well-equipped for the task (2 Timothy 3:16,17).”

Our goal should be to be so firm in our identity with Christ that our love and service for Him is unmistakable to those who see us. Exodus 21 says that if, at the end of six years, a Hebrew slave decides he loves his master and chooses not to be set free, “then his master shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently” (Exodus 21:6). The pierced ear identified him as a bondslave for the rest of his life. It was a reminder both to himself and to all who met him.

When Paul says in Galatians 6:17 that he bears brand-marks for Jesus, some theologians say he is identifying himself as Christ’s willing bondslave for life. No matter who we are, where we are stationed, or what our spouses do, may we strive to make our most defining, identifiable characteristic that of willing service to Jesus Christ.

Prayer: Lord, Help me to be firmly rooted in who You say I am. Let me not seek praise for myself or recognition for my own accomplishments, but may everything I say and do honor You. I am Your willing bondslave; I never want to be set free from Your saving grace.

Questions to Share:

1. Even if people knew little else about you, how would they be able to tell that you are a servant of Jesus?

2. Are there any ways in which you “brand” others by their accomplishments? In what ways can you strive to view them for the ways God may be working in their lives?

Jocelyn Green is an award-winning freelance writer and author of Faith Deployed: Daily Encouragement for Military Wives (www.faithdeployed.com), from which this devotional was reposted with permission from Moody Publishers She is also the co-author of Battlefields & Blessings: Stories of Faith and Courage from the War in Iraq & Afghanistan. She and her husband Rob live with their two children in Cedar Falls, Iowa.