Who Are You?
Who Are You?
Who Are You?
Who Are You?
When someone asks who you are what do you say? Beyond your name, how would you describe yourself?
When someone asks who you are what do you say? Beyond your name, how would you describe yourself? Many people respond with what they do. I am a designer, a financial advisor, a salesperson, an attorney, a construction worker, a teacher, a mom, a dad. Too many of us get our identity from what we do.
Now think about your last crisis of confidence….what did it involve? Great achievements are worth being celebrated but, if you let achievements define your life, you will struggle to find meaning. You see this in aging athletes. The recent documentary on the career of Michael Jordon and his Chicago Bulls team on ESPN’s The Last Dance was more sad than joyful as the stars looked back instead of forward. Many of the former NBA stars were struggling to find their identity and meaning in life even though they had accomplished so much.
There is some good in enjoying your job and certainly in celebrating accomplishments, however; if you place too much emphasis on what you do, your work becomes an idol. Recently, Tim Keller spoke at The Faith Driven Investor Conference warning investors, “Whatever you love the most becomes your identity. If your identity is in your finances or success…your giving and investing will be about you.”
The best news about your achievements not defining you is that your worst days and actions do not define you either.
Identity Is Received Not Achieved
To understand who we are we need to know who made us and why we were made. King David knew he was made by God and understood this truth as he wrote, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well” (Psalm 139:13-14).
God not only made us He gave us an incredible purpose too.
God revealed this perfectly to the Prophet Isaiah, “Everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made…It is true. You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD (Isaiah 43:7;10). Our identity is from God and our purpose flows from who we are made to be. Who we are is not what we do.
When you trust in Jesus, you know that your full identity and worth come from Him.
“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God — children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” - John 1:12-13
We all discover this truth at various times in incredibly unique ways. The story of the woman who so doubted her identity that she wanted to stay in anonymity even as she approached Jesus to be healed of a lifelong illness. She believed she could just touch Jesus’ clothes and be healed, but Jesus wanted to give her much more than physical healing, so He asked, “who touched me?” (Mark 5:31).
“Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering”’ - Mark 5:33-34
Jesus wants us to know He is The Creator, Healer, and Redeemer of life and purpose.
Once you know you are in Christ you are free to live as a child of the King.
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” - 1 Peter 2:9
This truth gives you incredible identity and purpose! What more could you want than to be known as child of the King?
Live As Royalty
Now, the challenge is to live like a prince or princess. God wants us to put our royal witness to use every day. First, we live with great confidence knowing we do not need anything. We can live and work without trying to leverage every situation to our advantage because we know we have everything we need (1 Peter 1:3). We do this by worshiping Him, not just on Sunday, but with our entire lives (Romans 12:1). Someone who is sure of their identity lives out their purpose by promising their life to Christ and then giving their daily work for the benefit of others.
Living and working for Christ needs practical discipline. Lewis Smedes provides great insight to how promises help us live out who we are made to be in his 2001 essay in Christianity Today. Lewis makes a case for making and keeping promises to best live out who you are. “We are largely who we become through making wise promises and keeping them” Lewis Smedes.
“The paradox of promising is that we freely bind ourselves to keep the promises we make. We limit our freedom so that we can be free to be there with someone in his future's unpredictable storms. "The person who makes a vow," said Chesterton, "makes an appointment with himself at some distant time or place." And he gives up freedom in order to keep it. When you make a promise, you tie yourself to other persons by the unseen fibers of loyalty. You agree to stick with people you are stuck with. When everything else tells them they can count on nothing, they count on you. When they do not have the faintest notion of what in the world is going on around them, they will know that you are going to be there with them. You have created a small sanctuary of trust within the jungle of unpredictability: you have made a promise that you intend to keep.” - Lewis Smedes, Controlling the Unpredictable—The Power of Promising
We can make promises to those we serve because have a God who promises to be with us. Jesus is the One who will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). We can go forward as ambassadors of the King by making and keeping promises to our families, coworkers, and neighbors. We can live and work knowing our identity is secure in Christ.
When someone asks who you are what do you say? Beyond your name, how would you describe yourself? Many people respond with what they do. I am a designer, a financial advisor, a salesperson, an attorney, a construction worker, a teacher, a mom, a dad. Too many of us get our identity from what we do.
Now think about your last crisis of confidence….what did it involve? Great achievements are worth being celebrated but, if you let achievements define your life, you will struggle to find meaning. You see this in aging athletes. The recent documentary on the career of Michael Jordon and his Chicago Bulls team on ESPN’s The Last Dance was more sad than joyful as the stars looked back instead of forward. Many of the former NBA stars were struggling to find their identity and meaning in life even though they had accomplished so much.
There is some good in enjoying your job and certainly in celebrating accomplishments, however; if you place too much emphasis on what you do, your work becomes an idol. Recently, Tim Keller spoke at The Faith Driven Investor Conference warning investors, “Whatever you love the most becomes your identity. If your identity is in your finances or success…your giving and investing will be about you.”
The best news about your achievements not defining you is that your worst days and actions do not define you either.
Identity Is Received Not Achieved
To understand who we are we need to know who made us and why we were made. King David knew he was made by God and understood this truth as he wrote, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well” (Psalm 139:13-14).
God not only made us He gave us an incredible purpose too.
God revealed this perfectly to the Prophet Isaiah, “Everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made…It is true. You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD (Isaiah 43:7;10). Our identity is from God and our purpose flows from who we are made to be. Who we are is not what we do.
When you trust in Jesus, you know that your full identity and worth come from Him.
“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God — children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” - John 1:12-13
We all discover this truth at various times in incredibly unique ways. The story of the woman who so doubted her identity that she wanted to stay in anonymity even as she approached Jesus to be healed of a lifelong illness. She believed she could just touch Jesus’ clothes and be healed, but Jesus wanted to give her much more than physical healing, so He asked, “who touched me?” (Mark 5:31).
“Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering”’ - Mark 5:33-34
Jesus wants us to know He is The Creator, Healer, and Redeemer of life and purpose.
Once you know you are in Christ you are free to live as a child of the King.
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” - 1 Peter 2:9
This truth gives you incredible identity and purpose! What more could you want than to be known as child of the King?
Live As Royalty
Now, the challenge is to live like a prince or princess. God wants us to put our royal witness to use every day. First, we live with great confidence knowing we do not need anything. We can live and work without trying to leverage every situation to our advantage because we know we have everything we need (1 Peter 1:3). We do this by worshiping Him, not just on Sunday, but with our entire lives (Romans 12:1). Someone who is sure of their identity lives out their purpose by promising their life to Christ and then giving their daily work for the benefit of others.
Living and working for Christ needs practical discipline. Lewis Smedes provides great insight to how promises help us live out who we are made to be in his 2001 essay in Christianity Today. Lewis makes a case for making and keeping promises to best live out who you are. “We are largely who we become through making wise promises and keeping them” Lewis Smedes.
“The paradox of promising is that we freely bind ourselves to keep the promises we make. We limit our freedom so that we can be free to be there with someone in his future's unpredictable storms. "The person who makes a vow," said Chesterton, "makes an appointment with himself at some distant time or place." And he gives up freedom in order to keep it. When you make a promise, you tie yourself to other persons by the unseen fibers of loyalty. You agree to stick with people you are stuck with. When everything else tells them they can count on nothing, they count on you. When they do not have the faintest notion of what in the world is going on around them, they will know that you are going to be there with them. You have created a small sanctuary of trust within the jungle of unpredictability: you have made a promise that you intend to keep.” - Lewis Smedes, Controlling the Unpredictable—The Power of Promising
We can make promises to those we serve because have a God who promises to be with us. Jesus is the One who will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). We can go forward as ambassadors of the King by making and keeping promises to our families, coworkers, and neighbors. We can live and work knowing our identity is secure in Christ.