4. Your gender is a gift; not a stereotype.
Much of our cultural frustration and confusion over gender started with the distortion of what gender really means. Men were taught that if we don’t have lumberjack beards and benchpress 500 lbs., then we’re not really men. Women are taught that if they don’t have the build of a Barbie doll and the domestic skills of an HGTV host, then they aren’t real women. Gender is so much more than a stereotype or an impossible standard that God expects you to live up to. It’s a gift; not a prison. Your gender is part of what makes you the unique masterpiece God created you to be, so embrace it as the gift it was intended to be. Don’t let magazine covers or cultural stereotypes squeeze you into a mold when God created you to be a unique masterpiece.
“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Romans 12:2
For more on this, check out my popular post on The 7 Lessons that turn a Boy into a Man.
5. If you search for your identity in anything but God, you’ll never truly find it.
The quest to find our “gender identity” is really just another quest to find our “identity.” We’re all longing to know who we are and why we’re here. We’re trying to make sense of the brokenness of our past, the struggles of our present and the fears and hopes for our futures. Christ gives purpose and peace to these pursuits like no one else can. If our primary identity is rooted in our gender identity, sexual identity, political identity, family identity, national identity, denominational identity or anything else, we’ve missed the point. Start the search with Jesus. He’ll not only show you the answers; He’ll show you that He is the answer.
“There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28
For additional tools to help you build a stronger faith and family, please check out my new book The Seven Laws of Love (by clicking here) and for daily encouragement connect with me on Facebook.
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