Finding our identity in God – not in the stars

My star sign tells me that I’m practical, reliable, and a diligent worker. But it also tells me that I’m a perfectionist, I’m stubborn, and I overthink. That’s OK, right? I used to think so, since it seems we all have some good qualities and some bad qualities.

At one point during college, I deeply identified with star signs. I swore off dating guys who were a certain sign, and I tried to make sense of my friendships based on our sign compatibility.

But I’ve found that when we feel drawn to something in order to figure out who we are, it is helpful to ask ourselves if it’s really something we want to trust. And I didn’t feel completely good about using star signs to try to determine my, and others’, identity. Although they seemed to offer insights about relationships, they made me feel like we’d all been put in boxes and were stuck with flaws these signs assigned to us. And I didn’t like feeling that we’re vulnerable to the stars, the moon, and the planets – that our future, health, and relationships are at the mercy of something completely out of our control.

I had grown up attending Christian Science Sunday School and had practiced Christian Science now and then, but I’d never explored it very deeply. I’d learned in Sunday School that God is good and that because we are God’s creation, we are also good. I realized that in order to really feel good about my understanding of myself and others, I needed to go deeper in my understanding of God as taught in Christian Science – which has nothing to do with star signs.

As I did, something cool happened. I realized that because God is always present, always good, always loving His children, I did have something in my life that was reliable, stable, and secure. We all do.

God doesn’t come with baggage or have any bad qualities, so our identity as His spiritual creation isn’t a mix of good and bad. Sure, we all have things we need to work on, things we’d like to be better at. But as we embrace our God-given identity, which is wholly good, and let go of a view of ourselves as flawed mortals, we can actually see those things redeemed. By understanding ourselves as God’s image, we recognize that we’re capable of being fully good, loving, joyful, and so much more.

The more I learned about God’s infinitely good nature, the more I learned about myself and those around me. I started to feel more secure about my own identity as joyful, intelligent, strong. I was trusting God to care for me and tell me what I am. I also realized that nobody is vulnerable to a negative power; we’re an expression of God, good, who is the only actual power.

I started to see more good in everyone, and I stopped putting people into boxes based on what I thought they’d be like. It’s given me a deeper connection with others because I’m seeing them, and myself, from a spiritual basis. Today, I feel better about my identity and more confident in who I am.

If we really want to know who we are, looking to God, Spirit, our divine Parent, is a reliable place to start. From this standpoint, we begin to see that we’re not actually mortal. We’re spiritual. Recognizing our spiritual identity brings us a feeling of freedom and an understanding of the fullest sense of ourselves and of each other.

Adapted from an article published in the Christian Science Sentinel’s online TeenConnect section, Jan. 9, 2024.

Inspired to think and pray further about fostering trust around the globe? To explore how people worldwide are navigating times of mistrust and learning to build trust in each other, check out the Monitor’s “Rebuilding trust” project.