“Looking intently at Simon, Jesus said, “You are Simon, the son of John; but you will be called Peter” (John 1:42).

If you really wanted to hurt someone, how would you go about doing so? _{Note: Rock Solid Youth does not condone violence of any kind} Some of you would consider how you would inflict physical damage onto an opponent. Others might consider more passive-aggressive methods, like spreading rumors or even using Facebook as a blackmail tool.

If you really want to do some damage, however, you would go after the person’s identity. Identity theft is one of the fastest-growing crimes, and it can be devastating to someone who has been a victim. It can take up to 5 years or more to rebuild bank accounts and establish credibility.

In the spiritual realm, we all have an enemy who seeks to attack us, not by inflicting pain, but rather by attacking our identity. Our enemy knows that God created us with an identity, a purpose, a plan for who He wanted us to be. If that identity can be attacked, our minds can be filled with lies about who we are and who we should be. When that happens, it can be difficult to recover. For this reason, we need to get connected to our true identity, and to see ourselves the way God sees us.

In the story, Jesus comes to a guy named Simon and changes his name. What you may not realize is, back then, a name had to do with the person’s identity. Each name can be translated into something that had to do with who that person was. The name Jesus, for example, means, “The Lord saves.” Fitting, because that’s what Jesus did.

So when Jesus comes up to Simon and says, “I’m going to call you Peter,” He is doing more than just giving Simon a cool name to call him. He is changing who he is. The name “Peter” means “rock.” Jesus is essentially saying, “When I look at you, I see someone who is a rock, a strong person, someone that can be the foundation for something great.”

When you look at Peter’s life, though, it takes a while for him to become a “rock.” In fact, most times, he looks nothing like a rock. He is a fishermen, an ordinary person. He has a bad mouth. He speaks without thinking. He is constantly getting corrected by Jesus. Yet this is the same character that Jesus insists is a rock.

Here’s what we need to learn from this: Jesus sees more in us than we see in ourselves. It was true for Peter, and it is true for us. We might see ourselves as insignificant. We may see our lives as lacking excitement. We may even look at ourselves as ugly, as losers, or as lacking brilliance. But Jesus, seeing who we can become, calls us beautiful, beloved, and important.

Just as He did with Peter, Jesus wants to change your name. He wants you to see your new identity, the identity that He gave you when you were created. He wants you to embrace this identity, and leave behind what everyone else says about you.

Later in the book of John, Jesus says, “The enemy’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. I have come to give you life to the fullest” (John 10:10). As you come to Jesus and hear what He says about you, the other voices will fade away, and you will find His protection from identity theft.