Hidden in Christ

"For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God."
Colossians 3:3 (ESV)

Let me ask you a question. Where do you go to find out who you are?

It sounds simple, but sit with it for a moment. Most of us, if we are honest, look in a number of places. We look at our work: how useful are we, how much are we producing? We look at relationships: are we loved, are we needed, do people choose us? We look at our spiritual life: are we consistent enough, faithful enough? And sometimes, most painfully, we look at our past and find our identity lodged there, in our failures and regrets.

Paul, writing to the church in Colossae, offers us something we do not expect.

"Your life is hidden with Christ in God."

That word hidden is worth sitting with.

What Hidden Actually Means

In the ancient world, to hide something precious was to keep it safe. Paul is saying that your truest self, your real identity, is not out there exposed to the changing winds of circumstance. It is tucked away, held securely, in Christ. That means it cannot be damaged by a bad season, a lost job, a broken relationship, or a period of spiritual dryness.

This cuts against everything our culture tells us. We are constantly invited to perform our identity, to curate it, display it, protect it. And the exhausting result is a self that is always on show, always fragile, always at risk of collapse.

But the Christian identity is not performed. It is received. And it is held not by your grip, but by God's.

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. The new has come. This is not merely a fresh start with the same old self. It is a new nature, a new standing, a new identity kept safe not by your efforts but by God's faithfulness.

A Future Being Kept

Paul adds a beautiful future dimension to this. He writes: "When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory."

The hiddenness is not permanent. It is purposeful. God is keeping something precious for the right moment. Who you are in Christ will one day be fully and finally revealed.

This is the security that nothing else can offer. Your worth cannot be confirmed by a promotion or a compliment. It cannot be destroyed by a failure or a criticism. It is hidden in a place beyond the reach of circumstances, beyond the reach of other people's opinions, beyond even your own worst moments.

You are not what your best day says about you. You are not what your worst day says about you. You are what Christ says about you. And His word does not change.

Rest there today. You do not have to perform your identity. You only have to receive it.

Reflect

Where do you most tend to look to establish your sense of identity and worth? What would it mean for your daily life if you truly believed your identity was hidden and held in Christ, beyond the reach of your circumstances?