READ: ROMANS 8:14-17; GALATIANS 3:26-28

Liar. Drunk. Adulterer. Coward.

Scroll through the news on any given day, and chances are you’ll find individuals who have been assigned disparaging labels. These labels are not new. In the Bible, we find that Jacob was a liar, Noah was a drunk, David was an adulterer, and Jonah was a coward. And yet, God worked in and through each of them in mighty ways.

What labels do you hear in a day? Theater kid, athlete, gamer? Labels can be positive: all-star, honor student, hard worker. Or negative: loser, cheater, troublemaker.

Problems occur when we let labels define us and those around us. We might try to steer clear of people with negative labels to avoid being associated with them, or we might try to befriend those with positive labels to elevate ourselves.

However, God is concerned with only one label. Are you His child? Have you received the label of believer by putting your trust in Jesus? If so, in the new creation you will be surrounded by people who were given many different labels while on earth, but in eternity, none of those matter. And today, God helps us treat each other in light of eternity (Romans 12:16; James 2:1-9).

Maybe you’ve received Jesus as your Savior, but you messed up big-time. That still doesn’t change who you are in Christ. Our mistakes don’t define us. Sin may have consequences, but it doesn’t change who we are. That’s the beauty and power of forgiveness. God does not look at our mistakes and label us accordingly. Because our sins are forgiven, He looks at us as His unblemished, holy, beloved children. When Jesus died on the cross and rose again, He took all the labels and sins and threw them away. The only label we need to be concerned with is the one He gives us: child of God—loved, forgiven, and adopted into His eternal family. • Erin Nestico

• If you have some time, consider taking a piece of paper and dividing it into three columns. In the first column, list all the labels you think other people give you. In the middle column, list all the labels you give yourself. In the third column, list all the labels God gives you (to get a few ideas, read Genesis 1:27; John 1:12; 1 Corinthians 6:19; 1 Peter 2:9). As you look at each column, how do you feel? Consider spending some time in prayer, talking to Jesus about the labels in each column and asking Him to help you see yourself the way He sees you.

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT)