I am a label reader. I want to know about the products I am using and the food I am eating. Well, usually. Sometimes I wish I hadn’t read a label and had remained blissfully ignorant. There are some things I enjoyed far more before I knew what I was actually eating.
In the world today, labeling isn’t just a convenience. It is a regulated act of authority with a long list of agencies to enforce the laws: FDA, USDA, EPA. Not only do our laws require truth in labeling, but they authorize the “labelers”. Did you know that without proper authority, it is illegal to change a label? The ability to label items is restricted to the ones who manufacture and distribute the products.
But the more I think about labels, the more I realize they tell a deeper story—one that reaches far beyond grocery aisles. People also wear labels. Some of them we wear proudly. If it wasn’t a bit weird, I wouldn’t mind having a tag that identifies me as Tessa and Shawna’s Mom. Some labels we place on ourselves. Others are placed on us by people we know—or even by people we barely meet—without our consent.
The legal framework of labeling parallels a more profound truth. Labeling is an act of ownership, responsibility, and authority. God the Creator is the Originator of our design. Just as a manufacturer has the legal right and responsibility to label a product, God alone has the divine right to name and identify us. Think about all those labels applied to us outside of God’s authority. How often are His labeling laws broken?
The greatest label we can wear is bestowed on us at the moment of salvation: Child of God. John 1:12 tells us that God gave us “the right to become children of God.” With that right we are also named God’s heirs. When a child is born into a family, we don’t question his sonship. We don’t doubt that she will be treated like all the others in the household. All that comes with being part of that family is granted when the baby enters this world.
The process is different for those who join their earthly families by adoption. Both of my girls spent time being wards. They lived with foster parents who cared for them and protected them, but they had no legal standing in those families. It wasn’t until their status changed from ward to daughter that my girls took my name and stepped into all the rights and privileges that come with being in my family. They are mine.
God says that about us. In Isaiah 43:1 we read: “But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.’” Wow! Does that give you chills? The God of the universe, the King of Kings, the Creator of all says to each of His children, “You are Mine.” Is there any more incredible label we can wear? And this label has been placed on all who know Him as Savior by the only One with the authority to name us: our Creator Father God.
But there are imposters—impersonators who try to pervert what is good. In our modern world as consumers, labeling laws are in place to protect us from dishonesty. Just as labels can be twisted in the physical world, they can be twisted in the spiritual one. God wants our hearts protected from the lies we hear from the great imposter who tries to exert authority where he has none. Satan is the master deceiver. He attempts to place false labels on us and delights when we allow ourselves to continue to wear them. He often uses everyday events or even people close to us to accomplish this. He tempts us to doubt what God says. He threatens our sense of security. And in our weak, frail, human state it often becomes easier to listen to his lies than to remember God’s truths.
But our Father comes to our defense. He gives us assurance in His Word of who we are in Christ and identifies us as belonging to Him:
- “. . . we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1)
- “. . . It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” (Psalm 100:3)
- “You are a chosen people. . .” (1 Peter 2:9)
- “. . . He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts. . .” (2 Corinthians 1:22)
Each of us has someone we hold dear and label as ours. My spouse. My child. My friend. These are the people we enjoy. We seek them out. The thought of them brings delight. We long for the next time we can be together. We have these feelings for those around us, and it seems perfectly natural. Then why do we have such difficulty accepting that Someone feels this same way about us? Why do we struggle with owning the label of Mine from the One Who loves perfectly?
During a particularly dark season in my life, a friend of mine took time to regularly communicate God’s truths to me. One note I received in the mail held a card on which she had written out Zephaniah 3:17: The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.
I read it and cried. I knew each of these truths in my head, but holding these words—God’s words—in my hand at that moment was overwhelming. I was not alone, for He was in my midst. And even though I felt totally worthless and abandoned in my earthly state, I had a God Who rejoiced and sang at the thought of me. That is what comes with God calling me His child. When He thinks of me, God sings.
For most of us, life seems harder than we think it should be. Sometimes it is the wave of one huge crisis that threatens us. Or it might be the constant pelting of smaller, unrelenting challenges. I do not know what you are experiencing in life, but as you read this series, my prayer is that you will begin to peel off the false labels and rest in the One who calls you His. If you know Christ as your Savior, God has permanently placed on you His label of MINE. And with that label firmly affixed, He draws you to His heart and loudly sings!
From God’s Heart to Mine
Take a moment to sit quietly with God and ask Him to reveal one false label you’ve been carrying. Write it down. Then, beside it, write the truth He speaks over you in Scripture—Child of God, Chosen, Beloved, Redeemed, His.
As you reflect, imagine the Father singing over you with joy. What does His song say about who you truly are?
From My Heart to God’s
Father, thank You for being the One who names me, claims me, and delights in me. Quiet the noise of every false label that has tried to cling to my heart and help me hear Your voice above all others. Remind me daily that I belong to You—that I am redeemed, chosen, and deeply loved. When I am tempted to believe the lies of the enemy, draw me close and let Your truth settle over me like a song. Teach me to rest in the identity You have given me and to live as one who is held, cherished, and called Yours. Amen.