Java 8 lambdas, Function.identity() or t->t

I have a question regarding the usage of the Function.identity() method.

Imagine the following code:

Arrays.asList("a", "b", "c")
          .stream()
          .map(Function.identity()) // <- This,
          .map(str -> str)          // <- is the same as this.
          .collect(Collectors.toMap(
                       Function.identity(), // <-- And this,
                       str -> str));        // <-- is the same as this.

Is there any reason why you should use Function.identity() instead of str->str (or vice versa). I think that the second option is more readable (a matter of taste of course). But, is there any “real” reason why one should be preferred?