Charles Taylor has a big ego. The former president of Liberia once attended an African conference in full combat gear, riding into town as his armed bodyguards jogged alongside his car. When he was accused of being a gunrunner and diamond smuggler, Taylor shamelessly addressed his people clothed in angelic white. But Taylor’s atrocities finally caught up with him and he was put on trial in The Hague for crimes against humanity. Alone, separated from companions, cash, and clout, Taylor now confronts the question of his identity. Who is he really?
Many of us know the feeling. From the moment we’re born, we slowly accumulate the people, possessions, and skills that form our identity. We’re someone’s child and sibling, and we eventually become someone’s friend, spouse, parent, and employee. But then we’re laid off from work or we lose a loved one through death or divorce, and we’re not sure who we are anymore.
Such tragic losses are a prelude to the main event. Someday we will die, and then “we must all stand before Christ to be judged” (2 Corinthians 5:10). Stripped of everything that shaped our identity, the question of the moment will be, “Who are you?”
The only answer that will do, as the Heidelberg Catechism declares, is that “I am not my own, but belong—body and soul, in life and in death—to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.” The only relationship that death can’t sever is the most important one. Paul exclaimed that “anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person” (2 Corinthians 5:17), and we who “are united with Christ” receive “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 1:3).
When Jesus asks who you are, reply that you find yourself in Him.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Mark 1:16-39
More:
Read Philippians 3:7-11 to learn how Paul found his identity in Jesus.
Next:
What does it mean to find your identity in Jesus? How can your identity in Him steady you when your world is rocked by unemployment, divorce, death?
AManofGod on June 24, 2011 at 1:23 am
Thank you Pastor Mike for such a powerful post! It is so easy to get lost in “who we have become” and we can easily forget “who Jesus wants us to be” sometimes. All the positions in our lives are temporary. The job you have will not be yours for all eternity….neither will the position you enjoy in your community or sadly even your spouse. All those things will pass, but the Love of The Living God is FOREVER! If we lose track of that and get lost in temprary earthly relationships and possessions we are fooling ourselves.
In 2011 I lost many things that I thought defined me. My job, my home, my spouse…..all were gone! I had nowhere to turn…..EXCEPT TO GOD! I know it may sound amazing but I have more love, joy and peace in my life than I have ever known…..and its all due to me discovering who I am really am…..and that is a member of an everlasting community…..with a Father that will never leave me or forsake me.
AMEN!
AManofGod
lindagma on June 24, 2011 at 6:37 am
This struck a cord. My marriage ended after 32 years. I didn’t have income, transportation or a place to live. Even though the relationship was abusive, I hung on to it, because I identified with the poor self-esteem that it brought.
But, of course, God took care of all of that. I have a car without payments, I inherited some money, etc. etc. and I have my self-esteem…I am a daughter of the King.
cyntre on June 24, 2011 at 8:47 am
We have to know who we really are, because sometimes circumstances and situations cause you to question who you are. I was basically kicked out of the church that i have faithfully served in, i felt like i was nothing and worth nothing at all.
But step by step I begin to learn that am not what people made me out to be, but I am who Christ made me to be. And no matter what name people give to me I would always remained who I am through the blood of Christ.
Thank you Pastor
mike wittmer on June 24, 2011 at 11:31 am
AmanofGod, lindagma, and cyntre,
Thank you for sharing from your personal pain and the invaluable lessons you have learned. I am so glad that Jesus has and is seeing you through, and that you have already mastered the truth that awaits all of us when we die. I’m sure you wouldn’t wish what you have went through on your worst enemy, but now that you have made it out on the other side, it’s kind of liberating, isn’t it? I’m guessing that a person who has lost everything is freed by the knowledge that they have nothing more to lose! Paul says this is true of all of us in Philippians 3:7-11.
eppistle on June 24, 2011 at 3:41 pm
I remember struggling with identity issues when I was going through adolescence. I was changing so fast that I didn’t know who I was, and when I thought I knew who I was, I didn’t like it. I later found out that finding the answer to “Who am I?” isn’t as important as finding out “Who is God?” Once I discovered who God was, I found my identity in Him – His child, His friend, His beloved. I have this kind of relationship with the Creator of the universe – not because of who I am, but in spite of who I am. This firm foundation for my identity continues to give my joy even when I fall short in my accomplishments or in the acceptance by others.
winn collier on June 28, 2011 at 8:53 pm
such good words, Mike. Thank you. The line from Heidelberg is powerful.