Labels and Brandings.

Each of us carries a label that tells others something about ourselves. Just like when you go into a supermarket, you look at the packaging and examine the label to determine what is in the product on display, so it is when we interact with each other that our labels are on display, and others respond to us as they “read” our labels.

The trouble is that oftentimes, we have labels that do not reveal who we are and mislead others, either intentionally or subconsciously. Sometimes, the labels are applied to deceive those into believing they are something they are not. Actors and politicians can project a persona that isn't true but a character they display to entertain an audience or gain favour.

And then there are labels that others have put on us that we accept and live out these declarations of expectations. These are often negative labels like loser, no good, disabled, weak, etc. There can also be labels that appear good but are also not true, like Perfection on a stick. You can be whatever you want to be, good and even saintly.

This is the point: What is revealed when we are truly who we are without any labels? What do we find when we take the time to remove all those labels that others have put on us or that we have put on ourselves? What are we left with? Maybe that is too scary for some, but wouldn't you like to know who you really are and what your purpose in life is?

The One who made you doesn’t put a label on you, a label that can be removed or exchanged. No, He goes one step further and puts a Brand on you and marks you with a stamp of ownership. Everything in the world is the Lord’s, and He has placed His unique brand on you that describes who you are and to whom you belong. Our response is to cover that up and put misleading labels over the branding, but the branding still remains.

So, Ask the Holy Spirit to help you examine what labels you carry that you and others have put on you that don't reflect who you are. Then, ask the Lord to show you your God-given brand that identifies who you are and your purpose here on earth; it might surprise you.

The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein.For He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters. Psalms 24:1-2

But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” Jeremiah 31:33-34