Step 6
I Am Love – We allowed God to replace our identity and mentor us into the identity of being “Love”. We learned the power of “giving ourselves away to everyone”. We confess our new identity over ourselves
* Many people want to be recognized for the work they’ve done or the understanding they carry. This is a false identity that will keep you veiled from receiving the fullness of God‘s love. If you have reached this step, yet you still find yourself needing validation from people – recognition, approval, or any type of acknowledgment – then you still need to do some work in Steps 4 and 5. Utilize Steps 3, 4, 5, and 6, until you find that you carry a deep recognition of God’s love. He will become your fulfillment. *
Most of the revelation we have about who God is in Scripture comes from men and their experiences with God. Only a few times has God chosen to define Himself. The first time was when God called Himself the “I Am”. This was significant because it told the children of Israel that there was no limitation on who God was on their behalf.
In the New Testament God chose to redefine Himself. In fact, He went to great efforts to display this new definition. It was quite controversial, the way Jesus addressed God as His Father. Yet, Jesus declares that God is also our Father.
The apostle Paul takes this a step further when he says that the Holy Spirit who is given to us, cries out within us “Abba Father,” Daddy. God has gone out of His way to reveal that He wants a relationship with us as our Papa.
The second instance where God defines Himself is through the revelation of the apostles as they declare that He is Love. Paul demonstrates that love is the ultimate pursuit, that we are destined to look like love, and that this is God‘s true nature. John the beloved goes even farther to declare that God is Love.
If God is Love and He is our Father, then love is our true identity. The second greatest aspect of our identity is that we are His son. The combination of these two identities will produce holiness (otherness). Any person who lives from these two identities will display God-like nature without struggling, without even trying. They will naturally act like their Father. These two identities, being love and being His son, when they have become concrete within us, produce a godly lifestyle like no other. They automatically display the glory of God. This is who you truly are, a son of God, and love incarnate.
Now the challenge is to get this new identity to become the only lens we see through. Many have tried to convince themselves of this new identity, but to little effect. The identity you live from will ultimately be the one you believe in your heart. But, your heart won’t just believe anything you tell it. Your heart requires an authority greater than you, an authority not prone to mistakes. Your heart needs to hear from Father.
In this step we are going to agree with God and speak forth God’s truth about us. We are going to confess out loud the things God has been sharing with us in our listening times. We will also simply ask God to keep saying it until it becomes our reality. Ask Him, “Papa, just say it again.”
If you find your heart pushing back against Father’s identity for you, then you may need to do more work in the previous steps. Often, we short change ourselves, because fear keeps us hiding from the real issues. A stronghold that is not fully dealt with, a hidden insecurity, a false identity such as pride not submitted; all these will make it hard for our heart to fully believe what God has said. These are the voices of doubt and disbelief that often shout in our ears. It is easy to fix, just go back to the appropriate step and allow Father to speak.
Another complication that can arise is if we attempt to confess something too big for our heart to handle. God will stretch us, but many people try to do this stretching themselves without God’s direction. Speak what Father speaks, and if your heart pushes back, simply ask Holy Spirit to tell you why.
We often find we need to keep repeating this step, all the while revising the other steps as struggles come to the surface. This is normal. Human emotional growth is frequently two steps forward with one step back. Don’t take it as a sign that there is something wrong with you. Developing a rock solid identity based on Christ alone is a process that demands for us to surrender our fears and doubts.
There is an end. Trust what God says rather than getting discouraged if it doesn’t feel fast enough. One day the whole thing will break wide open and you will be staring at blue skies with new eyes. God knows who you are. Lean more and more into that as you confess God’s reality into being.
We are being brought in a marvelous reality. As we learn to agree with God, confessing the truth over our lives, we will teach our heart to yield to only what is true. Love is our greatest asset. Love is our greatest skill. God will unleash unlimited power upon whatever originates from love. None of our other abilities or talents compare with our ability to love. It is how we find our fulfillment. We give from our endless supply. We give from our very life when we give from love. Let everything be given from our real self, selfless love without measure and without consideration of contrary emotions. We are made to be just like our Papa. We are made into the image of selfless abundant love.