FAMILY Archives - Caesar Kalinowski

Birthright: Living Out of Our Transformed Identity

The way of the world is: We do things (perform, serve, work etc.) to have value in the eyes of our family, friends, parents, spouse, siblings, boss, pastor etc.

If we do a good enough job and are perceived as valuable, then people will want us around. We will be wanted. Out of this activity we often form our identity. What we DO has led to who we ARE. Or at least we think it has. But there is a huge problem with this, it is terribly dangerous, it eventually crushes us, and it goes against how God now sees us.

Don’t believe the DO=BE lies anymore.

If we are in Christ, then the Bible teaches we have been transformed and given a new identity.

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If we are in Christ, then the Bible teaches we have been transformed and given a new identity. We have become part of a family of missionary servants, sent to serve the world and make disciples of Jesus.

This is who we are. This is our new identity. This is the secret.

And this is true of us as Christians EVEN IF WE NEVER KNEW IT. This is our birthright!

The more we understand and believe this to be true, the more our lives will be transformed.

We’ve all seen and heard this before if we’ve ever been baptized or witnessed a baptism ceremony. But maybe we missed it. In Matthew 28:19 Jesus laid out the entire picture and command for us, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” There it is. The mission of the Church and the means to accomplish it.

Our baptism is not some salvational magic spell or just a culturally ancient ritual; we are baptized, soaked, established into a new identity. Into the NAME OF the Father, and the NAME OF the Son, and the NAME OF the Holy Spirit…all a huge identity statement. This is who we now are. Looking briefly at each of these…

We are baptized into the name of the Father.

Our name has everything to do with whose family we are a part of. God is now our Father. We are his dearly loved children. In Christ we are brothers and sisters; That makes the Church a family. It is part of our transformed identity.

We are also baptized into the name of the Son.

We have entered into an identity relationship with Jesus. He is our King, who came and lived as a servant to all, and we now are his servants, serving his glorious mission, as we serve others as a way of life. Being a servant is now a part of our renewed identity.

Finally, we are baptized into the name of the Holy Spirit.

Throughout the New Testament the Holy Spirit is the sending agent of the Church. He empowered Jesus while on Earth, he guided and comforted the early Church and his indwelling presence transforms our identity into “sent ones”: literally missionaries.

As Christians we are all missionaries.

Because of who God is, and Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, we truly have become a family of missionary servants sent as disciples who make disciples.

This is our birthright. You may not have always known this to be true about yourself…but the next best time start believing it is now!

How to Stop Loving Stuff and Start Loving People

Being blessed with material wealth, things like a nice home and decorations, cars, clothing and mountains of electronics, is great. I’ve been given all of these things in my life and I’m grateful. But at times, some of these “good things” become “the things” that I begin to worship or protect, in a sense, forgetting what is truly important.

This Could Be Me…This Could Be You

After living in community for a while in Tacoma I met an older couple, not yet retired, but getting close to that stage of life. They were really cool folks who loved food, wine and riding motorcycles. What’s not to like? (more…)

Ask Caesar #3

Everyone I know seems busier than ever. Work, car pools, school and life in general all seem to be at odds with living a lifestyle of discipleship and mission. In a very real way these things are all competing for the same hours and minutes each day.

One of my readers, Dale, wrote asking, “I’m trying to learn how to integrate my missional life with my family life – balancing family time with discipling in community; how do I do that without killing my family or never really living on mission in community with others?” (more…)

The Best Parenting Advice I Ever Got

When it comes to parenting, everyone seems to have advice to give out. Especially on how you should raise your kids. But not their’s so much… I want to pass on a nugget that has proven to be some of the best advice my wife, Tina, and I ever received.

Our kids were a little younger at the time, probably around 3, 5 and 7 years old. And like a lot of parents, we had at least one (all) of our kids who was pretty strong-willed. We were increasingly having to deal with actions and attitudes that required discipline, and some days it seemed like we were running our own little detention center.

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Who’s Your Daddy?

Families can be tricky things and we live in a world and time where many are redefining what a family is. So who are we supposed to treat as “family” – or another way of asking this question is:

Who’s Your Daddy?

Imagine that you’ve been living in your house for a few years, going about your busy life: working, raising a family, going to school—all the normal stuff of life that keeps us focused on…well, ourselves. What would you do if all of a sudden you realized your own father, sister, or brother was alone–in terrible need–and had been living right next door?

Maybe they are, and you never noticed.

Who does the Bible say is in “our family”? If we consider ourselves Christians, is it just Christians, or if we are Jewish is it just other Jewish people? Can we get by with only treating people who are just like us and believe the exact same things we believe as family?

Or are we really called to treat everyone like they’re part of the family?

I guess the answer to the question of who you will treat like they’re your family is best answered by asking, would you treat Jesus like a member of your own family? Jesus told his closest friends a story one day to help them grasp the reality of how he sees everyone, and how he would hope we would see and treat others.

“When I was hungry you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, when I needed clothes you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, when I was in prison you came to visit me…. And his friends were like, “…We did…?”

He goes on and says, “I’m telling you the truth: Whenever you did one of these things for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me–you did it to me.”

I see it like this: We have some brothers and sisters out there that are estranged from Dad, from God. They don’t trust him and stopped coming to holiday meals and family functions long ago. They are having a hard time believing that he really loves them. But he does, enough that he sent a Son–Jesus– our own brother, to rescue and save them. It cost him his life, but that’s how much he loves them and wants them restored to a full and wonderful life in his family.

So let’s stop worrying about who’s in or who’s out, saved or unsaved. Let’s treat everyone like family…the way God does.

Let’s stop worrying about who’s in or who’s out. Let’s treat everyone like family…the way God does.

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God is in the adoption business. He wants you and everyone else in his family. He says, I’ve got some pretty weird kids, but you’ll grow to love them!

The next best time to start treating people as part of the family is now.

Why Daddies Should Date Their Daughters

Listen up fathers out there: if you have the privilege of raising daughters (or a daughter) then you are one lucky fella. Here’s why Daddies should date their daughters.

My wife Tina and I have a son and two daughters. We are a very blessed couple. We’ve done a lot of things wrong as parents, but one thing we got right was dating our kids–regularly taking them out on “dates”.
[Click Here to get my “The Perfect Daddy – Daughter Date Checklist”.] (more…)