I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. (Galatians 2:20)
Scottie Scheffler is on fire—on fire on the golf course and on fire for Christ. He understands who he is in Christ, and that in itself is a huge win.
Not all Christians grasp the concept of knowing that their entire identity is in and hidden in Christ. As the Bible says, “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). It is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in us. As Paul wrote in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”
In a 2024 interview with Sports Spectrum, Scottie Scheffler talked about how his identity is not tied to his golf scores or his victories. He said, “So, yeah, my life’s not a golf score, it’s not how many trophies I’m going to win… I don’t identify myself by winning tournaments…”
Neither should we identify ourselves by how many tournaments, victories, accolades, awards, achievements, or anything else that we may obtain on our earthly journey.
Although these achievements may serve as blessings because they are all from God, as James 1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above.” We are given these as useful blessings to work His purposes for our lives, the lives of others, and for the Kingdom of God.
At the end of this life, when we go home to be with the Lord, none of these things will come with us. We will only bring our love and praise for the God who saved us, our Lord Jesus Christ. All of these earthly blessings will simply be laid at His feet, in thankfulness, because it was ultimately all Him anyway.
When we truly grasp that we are just vessels for Christ, it becomes easy to understand that He is our identity. As 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 reminds us, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price.” All of our stock is in Christ. All of our eggs are in His basket.
Scottie will not be taking all his trophies to heaven. Those will stay on earth, where rust and moth will decay them (Matthew 6:19-20). But what he will take with him is his love for Christ and the heavenly rewards for proclaiming Christ and doing His will on earth.
These are the heavenly treasures that Jesus talks about in Matthew 6:20, “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
That should be our aim. But the only way we can fully strive for heavenly treasures and eternal pursuits is by understanding that our identity is in Christ. We wear Him daily, and our whole being lives through Him.
As Philippians 1:21 says, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” There is nothing we can do to earn the kind of love He gives us. The love that loves us unconditionally, even when we are faithless (2 Timothy 2:13), even when we fail Him.
He is not faithless. He is always faithful to us and always with us, and He indwells in us, desiring that we fulfill His great purposes for our lives and for His glory and kingdom.
Prayer: Lord, help us to remember that our identity is always in you, not on what we do, what roles we play, or what we obtain in this life, but solely focused on who you are…our Lord and Savior.