1 Corinthians 15:57–But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Coming from the negative side of being victorious is to be a victim.  A victim of violence, abuse, oppression, etc.  Being a victim leaves with it, the feeling of being held hostage to a mindset or act done against you.  But many times being victimized goes far beyond “the act” to an identity.  An identity that we now know ourselves, by what has been done to us…

One of the hardest things that will haunt you in your life is the inability to “get over” the things that have happened directly or indirectly to you.  Life has a way of marking you with significant events, with memories that seem everlasting.  Wishing that those events never would have happened.  But they have, the question is whether we will allow ourselves to remain victims or become victorious?

If the cross of Jesus Christ is going to have any real relevance in our lives, than we have to start with an identity of forgiveness.  It was forgiveness in the tragedy of being crucified by the people Jesus came to die for, that enabled Him to move from innocent victim to a victorious King!  If Jesus never forgave His attackers, He would just be known as a victim of brutal violence!  But it was the decision to forgive that took the power of their attack away from them, and gave it back to God and His purpose!

Imagine if you really lived victorious in Christ?  We would not linger so long on the things people have done to us or haven’t done for us.  We would not allow them to have the power to keep us in the bondage of bitterness.  But we do that if we identify with Jesus, more than what has been done to us.  As a Christian, it really is a choice to remain a victim or live victorious in Christ.  One or the other defines our identity.

In His Love, Ld