Who am I?
Matthew 16:15-17 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. (NKJV).
Identity. It is a huge issue in today’s world, and touches Christians and non-Christians alike. One of the most important questions to be answered is; “Who am I?” Sadly, many don’t, won’t, haven’t, and can’t answer. So many people don’t know what to do in life, or get life all mixed up, because they don’t really know who they are, or think they’re someone they’re not, or try to be and do what they think they should be and do, or try to fulfill some prophecy they’ve received.
In Numbers 13-14 we read of ten leaders who didn’t know who they were. They couldn’t take the Promised Land because of how they saw themselves. Numbers 13:31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” (NKJV). Numbers 13:33 “There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers
In life there are three great revelations or discoveries that are absolutely essential;
A). Who Jesus is.
B). Who I am.
C). What my purpose in life is.
Life gets far less complicated when we know who He is, who we are, and our mission within those revelations. When you know who you are you’re well on the way to discovering your mission in life.
Pastor Ken Legg in his booklet “The Road Ahead” tells the story of an old down-and-out tramp shuffling along the road one day. He was depressed and miserable. He had no purpose in his life and his face showed it. He sat down in a gutter opposite an artist’s studio, and the artist noticed him. The artist began to sketch the man’s portrait. But instead of drawing his facial features with a look of hopelessness and despair, he drew him with a bright and positive countenance. He now appeared as one with purpose and destiny to his life. He called the tramp over to where he was and showed him the portrait. “This is a picture of you!” he said. “Me? Is that me?” asked the tramp. “It’s wonderful! If that is a picture of me”, he vowed, “I am going to go out and become that man!”.
Not knowing who you are leads to heaps of issues! It distorts reality. We sing the wrong song. We make bad decisions. We feel threatened by other’s successes. Our leadership becomes leading from a defensive position, rather than from a revelation of who God has made us to be. We feel insecure. When you know who you are you can really let people fly above and beyond you. When you know who you are you can give yourself full permission to shine, and really fly, and really succeed and be somebody. (Someone once said “Don’t criticise tall poppies, you might want to be one, one day”). We find it hard to say no, and yes, at the right times. We become unsettled in jobs, relationships, Churches, in our houses, in serving, in almost everything.
Not knowing who we are is frustration city! It is insecurity overload. It is also a barrier to true love – in marriage and other relationships. We can’t receive, or give love as we know we should.
When Jesus asked Peter “But who do you say that I am?” (See Matthew 16:15), He knew who He was! But the revelation of who Jesus was, given to Peter by the Father, was the revelation that took Peter into his ministry and is the truth upon which the Church is built.
Discovering our identity IN CHRIST is a huge life-changing revelation! Many people try to find their identity from achievement, approval or appearance. Yet the Bible says we have a new identity, IN CHRIST! Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (NKJV). Romans 6:3-5 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection. (NKJV).
We may know this verse well; 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (NKJV). Part of being a new creation means we have a new way of thinking about ourselves, a new source of our identity.
I like many are still on this amazing journey of discovery! There’s more to know about Christ, who He really is, what He has done for us, the incredible resources we have IN HIM, our true POSITION! Your identity, who you are, is a great truth. What you do comes out of that. I believe in every soul there is a song! Something unique to the way God has wired us up, something that only we can do to be the person God has made us to be. So, are you singing your song yet? The choir needs your part, and it needs you to be singing your part in tune. It only comes from the discovery of our true identity, who we are IN CHRIST! Make it a quest over the next few weeks to search, dig into His Word, to pray and seek a revelation about who Christ really is! That will deal with many of the hurts and pains and issues in our life. Then, find out who you are, IN CHRIST! You’ll never be the same again!
[…] am I? What’s my identity? I’ve written about this before (Brief Word – #10 March 2010), but it remains an important topic. Too often we don’t understand who we are (our identity) […]