Who are you?
I’m a writer. I’m a speaker. I’m a husband. I’m an old guy who rides a handcycle. I’m a quadriplegic, a guy in a wheelchair. I’m a guy who’s planning a new adventure: Florida Hope Tour 2013.
Of course, none of those has anything to do with who I am.
As a middle school teacher I laughed and cried as I watched kids engaged in the struggle to find their identity. For early adolescents, “who I am” is determined by friends, clothes, and activities. The answer changes as frequently and unpredictably as the hairstyles.
As much as adults try to help and guide, figuring out who they are is a difficult developmental task they need to accomplish. Unfortunately, many folks never quite find the answer. To some degree, many adults identify themselves (ourselves) by bank balance, neighborhood, career, and other external criteria.
When we define ourselves in these terms, we’re at the mercy of people and circumstances. We confuse condition with position.
Cars, jobs, houses, health—those are all conditions. They change, sometimes because of our actions and often because of events completely beyond our control. To the extent we answer “who am I” in external ways, we develop and affirm a conditional identity. We buy in to a lie.
Here’s the truth: Your identity has nothing to do with your condition. Who you are, who I am, doesn’t depend on circumstances. Our true core identity doesn’t change.
You and I are defined by our position as beloved children of God. That’s affirmed by perhaps the most familiar verse in scripture:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
If you’re not sure about your true identity, read this slight alteration, but fill the blanks with your name.
For God so loved __________ that he gave his one and only Son, that __________ shall not perish but have eternal life.
As a follower of Jesus, you are the person for whom God sacrificed His Son. Absolutely nothing can change that, because absolutely nothing can separate us from God’s love.
That’s who you are. You have a permanent position in God’s family.
It’s good to work on improving our conditions, as long as we don’t think success or struggle can alter our position.
That won’t change. Ever.
What conditions impact your perceptions of your position?
Please leave a comment here.
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