7 Scriptures to Help You Anchor Your Teen’s Identity in Christ

When my boys were little, they attended a golf camp together. Noticing that our 4-year-old was wearing a Batman t-shirt, the coach whispered, “Hey Noah, are you really Batman? I won’t tell anyone!” Noah quickly looked around and whispered back, “No, Coach Dave, Eli (his big brother) is Batman. I’m Robin, the Boy Wonder!”

Isn’t it funny how easily we find our identity in other things? Noah is now fourteen and obviously no longer thinks he’s a superhero. However, he is still tempted to find his identity in relation to his older brother.

All of us are tempted to let the world define us in different ways, but teens are especially susceptible to taking on false identities. They need to know they are more than what they do or how they feel. Many of them believe that their identity is found in their sexuality, their talents, their grades, their failures, or their labels.

But as believers, we know that “In Christ, there is no difference between Jew and Greek, slave and free person, male and female. You are all the same in Christ Jesus. You belong to Christ, so you are Abraham’s descendants. You will inherit all of God’s blessings because of the promise God made to Abraham.” (Galatians 3:28-29, NCV) Clearly, those delineations existed back then and still do today; however, Paul’s point is that while we all have many characteristics that may describe us, we only have ONE identity that defines us— we are children of God. It is so important for us as parents to help our teens stay grounded in the truth of who God says they are!

Here are 7 Scriptures to help you anchor your teen’s identity in Christ and not the world:

1.) “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believedin his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12)

2.) “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10)

3.) “But you are a chosen people,a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9)

4.) “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

5.) “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17, NLT)

6.) “I have been crucified with Christand I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)

7.) “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ,set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:1-3)

Help your teen internalize these truths.

So, how do you help your teen anchor their identity in these truths? You can take a hint from Moses’ command in Deuteronomy 6:6-9. “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”

Write these verses out and hang them on the refrigerator or bathroom mirror where your teen will see them often. If they drive, tape one to their steering wheel. Have them choose their favorite verse and make it their phone’s lock screen.

Above all, while you continue to encourage your teen in their talents and interests, be sure to constantly remind them that their true identity lies not in what they do but in who they are. Discuss together how they can be a light and an ambassador for Christ as friends, students, teammates, and neighbors.

Set an example in your own life by internalizing these truths yourself and modeling what it looks like to live anchored in your identity in Christ!