An Anniversary Reminder: Living Victoriously in Christ

I remember when we first began to discuss our tagline. “TCKs for Christ: Living Victoriously in Christ.” Sounds majestic, doesn’t it? I certainly thought so at the time. What a great calling, to live victoriously. Everyone likes victory, after all.

So why do I still feel that I fail to completely grasp its meaning and applications? What does it truly mean to live victoriously in Christ?

I’ll give a few thoughts at the end of the post. Before we get to that, other members of our team will tackle this (and probably do a better job at it than I). But first, I want to express deep gratitude for TCKs for Christ.

When I was first recruited, TCKs for Christ was nothing more than an idea. Our founder had a beautiful vision for Christian TCKs to encourage and be encouraged by one another. She asked me to come on as a writer and IT specialist (mostly the latter). I accepted, and after months of planning (mostly on her part), TCKs for Christ was born.

Since then, we’ve gone through many changes. We’ve seen staff come and go. Lisa and I have pushed several dozen major website updates. Our leadership team has been restructured. I could go on for a while. Yet through all these changes, Jesus Christ has remained at our very core. Our identity and focus is unchanged. Our extended mission statement is “Living Victoriously with an Identity Firmly Rooted in Jesus Christ.” What a glorious hope: to place our faith, trust, and the very cores of our beings in Christ.

Now, let us hear from my dear colleagues. We asked them, “What does it mean to live victoriously with a firm identity in Jesus Christ as a TCK?”

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Kristianne:

Living victoriously in Christ as a TCK means embracing my unique background as part of the story God is writing with my life. It means using my TCK gifts of compassion and bridge-building for the glory of God. It means serving my community wherever He places me.

Lisa:

For me, “to live victoriously with a firm identity in Jesus” means to accept that this is a foundational part of my life and that my TCK experience has greatly shaped who I am today. Living victoriously means to be content with this lot in life and to give thanks for all the good things. It means to steward those gifts well while honestly recognizing hardships and negative impacts. It means working through these things with God and allowing Him to bring healing and redemption. I know by faith and experience that all things work for my good because He loves me.

It’s about turning my eyes always to Jesus and remembering my entire life has to be built around Him. I can then look at the TCK elements in light of that. I find the word “live” holds emphasis for me in our motto. As children of God, we know that we are victorious in Christ and that our identity is in Him, but I find that life is a long journey in learning to live that out in practice. And that takes intentionality, obedience, humility, being before God, and learning from the community around us.

Lynette:

Even though I have had many rich experiences growing up as a TCK, there are also pains and challenges that come from this upbringing. It can be tempting to hold on to resentment or feed doubt about God’s goodness because of the hard times. So for me, living victoriously as a TCK means letting go of resentment, and finding healing for pain. It means choosing faith in God’s ways and His leading – even when they haven’t always made sense to me. Living victoriously is about intentionally noticing evidence of His grace and living with the expectation of good.

Chloe:

By trusting that God is good. Sometimes I feel like I am missing out on things from “my other country,” or I am behind where I “should be” in life. But I can trust that the story He writes for my life is good. Just as it can be good to be like those around you, it can also be good to be different. God works all things together for the good of those who love Him.

Chana:

For me as a TCK, living victoriously in Christ involves bringing every emotion and struggle to Him and letting Him take them. So many of us TCKs have various traumas and griefs, whether or not we realize it. I have learned that victory in Christ means not necessarily that I understand the hard parts of my story, but that I can and should always tell Him about all of my feelings and confusion, especially when I’m in the thick of it. I love the lyrics to the song “Son of Suffering” by Bethel Music:

"Oh, the perfect Son of God 
In all His innocence 
Here walking in the dirt with you and me 
He knows what living is 
He's acquainted with our grief 
A man of sorrows, Son of suffering 
Oh, blood and tears How can it be? 
That there's a God who weeps 
There's a God who bleeds 
Oh, praise the One Who would reach for me 
Hallelujah to the Son of suffering 
Some imagine You Are distant and removed 
But You chased us down in merciful pursuit 
To the sinner, You were grace 
And the broken You embraced 
And in the end the proof is in Your wounds" [1]

This reminds me that Jesus wept and that when I feel like weeping, I can find solace in the arms of my Lord who weeps, even if I don’t fully understand the broader picture. In bringing my emotions to God, I am victorious in Christ, rather than being driven to the arms of other idols to console me.

Anna:

To me living victoriously in Christ as a TCK means by the grace of God learning to receive what I don’t know and don’t understand. It means learning to receive what I haven’t figured out as a sweet gift to grow in relationship with Christ, who knows all things. It means by the grace of God coming to Him for help and admitting how much I need Him. It means learning to trust Him when He invites me to take that next small step.

It means by the grace of God learning, where I think I know things, to remember that that “knowledge” of mine puffs me up, while it is love (Christ) that builds me and others up. It means learning to let go of what I think I know to let love (Christ) lead me and change my mind to make my paths straight. It means by the grace of God actively looking for the good in my (A)TCK life, with all its ups and downs, to see how God has used and is still using it all to bless me and others through me. It means being in the Word of God, in prayer and fellowship with His Body daily, and taking time to be still to hear and obey God’s voice.

Hannah:

To me, living victoriously in Christ means embracing who I am in Him. It means understanding and believing that while my ethnicity, passport, experiences, and where I’ve lived all are part of who I am today, none of these things define me. I don’t have to try to change myself to be less different or fit in better, because I am who He made me to be, and all that God makes is good. I am loved and valued by God, I am His child, and I belong to Him. He has a unique purpose for me, and He will fulfill it.

"The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands." 
Psalm 138:8 ESV

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There are many intricacies to these answers. I hope you, my dear readers, can spot the personal touches of each answer. Our team has a lot to share.

To live victoriously with a firm identity rooted in Jesus Christ as a TCK, we must pursue our relationships with Him to the fullest extent. Many can claim to know of God (read the gospel accounts of the Pharisees), but do I know and love God? Am I pursuing Him daily in my thoughts, actions, and words? Am I praying consistently? Am I learning about Him through careful prayer and study of the scriptures?

To know God is the first step in a long path to a firm identity. You can read several of these steps above. As I consider this question of identity in Christ, I’m reminded of the word “grounded.” “Grounded” and “rooted” are adjectives, and I often pray that the Lord would ground me in Himself. I pray that I would be grounded in truth, that I may walk in wisdom. I must ground myself in the Scriptures. I must ground myself in wisdom, observing and acting carefully and according to God’s calling upon my life.

Are you grounded, TCK? Is your life firmly planted on the solid rock that is Jesus? If not, I encourage you to place your faith and trust in Him today. Only by approaching the throne of grace can we ask Him to take away our pain, struggle, and hurt. Only then can our identities be submitted and re-shaped by God.

What a gift is our Savior. It is the greatest joy to pursue the One who knows me better than anyone else. My creator, the founder and maker of our faith. We worship You. We give You thanks. May You be glorified in all that we do and say. Amen.

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