In this week’s episode of the I Choose Today podcast, we continued our Identity series by talking about something that quietly shapes the way many of us live, the difference between favor and labor. Last week we talked about being accepted instead of chasing approval. We talked about how identity in Christ is something we receive, not something we earn. But once that truth begins to settle into your heart, another question often rises: If I am accepted, how do I live from that acceptance instead of striving to maintain it? Many of us don’t struggle to believe that God loves us. We struggle to believe we don’t have to earn what flows from that love. We’ve been conditioned to think that blessing follows effort, that closeness with God must be maintained through performance, and that favor increases when we try harder. But Scripture paints a different picture. Luke 2 tells us that Jesus “grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” That verse is powerful because it doesn’t say Jesus earned favor. It says He grew in it. Favor was already present. At His baptism, before performing a single miracle, the Father declared, “This is