But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. – Ephesians 2:13 Recently, I’ve been approached by several people whom have asked how they could find their identities and their being in the comfort of their own skins. If you spent any time in your teens and twenties, you’d know that finding yourself is a long and arduous process which often leads to dead ends and disappointments which are often followed by more bad decisions and miscues. Then, one day, someday, everything clicks and on that day you reach into the deep recesses of your soul and find exactly who you are, realizing that who you were existed in the very part of you that was missing. It’s quite a task. If you found yourself, congratulations; if you haven’t, well, feel free in finding yourself with the only words you need to read or hear to find yourself: you are fully you when you come close to Christ! Paul writes to the Ephesians exactly what our mission statement is for Redemption: to reach those of us who are far away from Christ into an authentic relationship with him. Here’s what that does in terms of “finding ourselves”: Christ’s blood allows us to access the identity God gave to us in our creation. That is to say that we are free to find ourselves as children of God. If you still don’t understand what I’m saying then let me give you an example of what this looks like. It looks like having a billion dollars in the world (having no financial or social constraints) and then doing what you always dreamed of doing sans retiring into death. Yeah, so if you’re feeling stuck where you are because you know you’re only doing it just because, as opposed to doing what you’re doing because you love doing what you do or at least are going to the place of doing what you love to do; then you need to come closer to Jesus’ cross. That’s where we need to be mentally. I don’t know what is stopping you from pursuing the dreams God gave to you; but I could imagine those obstacles stopping you. But to give you some reassurances on your fears of being exposed for confessing your weaknesses, mistakes, and shortcomings to Jesus at His Cross, I will tell you that there is no risk in coming close to Jesus’ cross. He is not going to be surprised by what you confess. He is not going to strip you from having the power of coming near. If you want to live a life free from the burden of being somebody you’re not, you need to take hold of the power offered by Christ to come near to God and be everything you knew you were created for. Our sins and our past do not disqualify us. Nor are they a stumbling block if we are ready to say “yes” to it. The power is here for you. Take it.