One evening our home group was discussing what it means to
walk out our identity as sons/daughters of God.
We were filling in the blank in the phrase, “you know you’re a son when
you…” My husband, Jimmy said, “You know
you’re a son when you go in the frig and get yourself something to eat without
asking.” That about says it all. I am at home in the Father’s house as I
partake freely of what he has there.
But what if you’re a cat.
I often hear a cat howling in the woods behind our
house. She’s a gray kitty, feral,
without a home. This morning I saw her
crouched low with her tail almost dragging on the ground as she hurried across
the front yard. Tail wagging is a sign
of happiness in a dog. With cats, you
can tell how secure or happy they are by the tail being straight up or
down. This cat was out of her element,
not at all at ease, and got out of our yard as quickly as possible.
This afternoon, there was a different cat at our door, our
outdoor cat, Lily. Lily was also born a
feral cat, but we have petted and cuddled her since she was a kitten. Although we could not tame her well enough to
come and live inside our home, she continues to stay nearby and eat at our back
porch everyday.
When she saw me, Lily hurried to greet me, her tail straight
up like an arrow, a little curl at the tip.
Lily knows she belongs at our house, and her tail shows it. Her tail says, “I am a son (or a daughter in
this case) at the Spaloss’ palace.”
Now there are places/times where I feel out of place, not in
my element. If I was a cat, my tail
would be dragging. But there are other
places/times where I feel loved and secure and my kitty tail would be straight
and tall. What makes me feel at home at
one time, and out of place at another?
What gives me security or insecurity? It’s like Lily showed me. It is in knowing who I am, knowing I am a son
or daughter of the Most High God.
The King may not always be wearing his crown, but he’s
always royalty. He carries his royal
presence whether into the throne room, or when he goes to the movies with his
kids. So it’s not a place or the people
in that place that gives me my identity.
Instead, I am learning that I take my God given identity wherever I
go.
What does that look like? Wells it looks like a cat with her tail
straight up like an arrow. It looks like
me catching myself feeling out of place, reminding myself of who I am, and
helping myself to whatever God has in his frig, his storeroom of provision for
whatever inadequacy I am experiencing.
Whether I am lacking confidence, hope, security, words to speak, it’s in
the frig, and I have an open invitation to take whatever I want or need. Just read the sign taped on God’s frig: “Hey
there! All who are thirsty, come to the water! Are you penniless? Come
anyway—buy and eat! Come, buy your drinks, buy wine and milk. Buy without money—everything’s free!” (Isa. 55 The Message)
