What Is Already Ours

When my brothers and I were kids the middle brother, Bill, had a watch that he forgot he had. I don’t recall when he got the watch or when he lost the watch, but I can tell you when the watch reappeared. It reappeared the day he bought the watch from Jim, the youngest of us three brothers. Now if this doesn’t make sense to you just hang-in here for a few more sentences.

While it has never been fully explained, Jim came into possession of Bill’s watch after Bill lost it, or misplaced it, or did something else to banish the watch from memory; it’s an example of “out of sight out of mind”. How long Jim had the watch is anyone’s guess, once again, it has never been fully explained.

One day Jim asked Bill if he’d like to buy a watch, Bill said “yes” and the deal was done. Shortly thereafter Jim, not being able to contain himself, informed Bill that Bill had purchased his own watch.

A few mornings ago I said to an unemployed young man (the population of young men increases as my age increases) that his identity is not in whether he has a job or not but that it is in Christ, Christ is our identity; our occupation is not our identity. At the end of the day the young man sought me out and said, “I’m 41 years old and no one has ever told me that Christ is my identity, thank you.”

I gave the young man what he already had – he saw it as something new, I saw it as something old in the sense of ageless. John writes in his first letter that he is writing in order that his readers might know that they have eternal life, 1 John 5:13. John was affirming what his readers already had as a result of their belief in Jesus.

There are those who sell people what they already have, and then there are those who affirm what people already have. If in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, Colossians 2:3, we can be confident and competent in affirming Christ in our brothers and sisters; and in affirming our brothers and sisters in Christ.