day 1094: I-9's

"Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people." 

Unless you own your own business and are intimate with legal hiring requirements, or you work in HR then you probably don't know anything about an I-9 form.  The I-9 is the core piece of paper that verifies whether or not an individual to be hired is legal to work in the United States.  Every employee is supposed to have one on file and if you do any contracted work with the U.S. government and these forms are not up to date and on file for review at all times, then the government can slap you with a substantial fine that multiplies with each missing or incorrect form.  Even if you aren't a federal contractor, you are subject to violations from the Labor Department of INS.  To complete an I-9 it actually takes a human being to check two forms of valid forms of identification, including social security number and to certify with their personal signature that everything is in order.  So, it takes some discipline, process, follow-through and trustworthiness of the person doing the validating.  I-9s are going to be in the news again soon as they have recently gotten a revision and whatever passes with new immigration reform will shine the spotlight back on the I-9 form.  If you don't know anything about these and you think you should, it might be worth a quick check-in with your HR Head or office manager.

While I-9's verify our working identity, we don't need anyone but God to validate our identities for Him.  He knows who we are better than we do and wants us to know Him just as closely.  I love our Father for so many reasons and who could ever turn away a God who seeks for us to know who He is by giving us His Word and Spirit to access freely and deeply.  The only barrier is our level of faith, belief and willingness to surrender our lives to Him. There is no question of identity in the Kingdom.  We are God's children and He is excited each time we reaffirm that as we call upon Him as our Father and Lord.  If today there is any question who you belong to and who is there with you on the job, at home or throughout the day, then remember that He validates you and affirms His love for you as His, each and every day.

Reference: 1 Peter 2:10 (New Living Translation)