I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know full well. Psalm 139:14
Who are you?
This is a question asked of us our entire lives.
At job interviews I usually say I’m passionate, loyal, honest, and a hard worker. I don’t usually tell people that I can be stubborn and easily angered. I let them discover that later on. Just kidding!!?? But even though I would describe myself as all those things, does that still answer the question “Who am I?” After all, how I would describe myself may not be another’s opinion of me. Who is right? Them or me?
Many would say “you are what you think you are.” But do we see things clearly about ourselves? I think most of us tend to paint ourselves in a more lovely light than may truly be the case; after all, we have our own self-interest at heart. (Oh, and did I say stubborn? I meant willfully playful. Easily angered? Never! I’m just a sensitive soul that passionately yearns for justice.) And others, operating with a poor self-image, are not able to see any of the lovely things about themselves. So “Who are you?” is not so easily a question answered, when left up to us.
Thankfully, our Creator didn’t leave it up to us to figure out entirely by ourselves.
God’s word says we were made by Him and for Him. That can be quite a hard pill to swallow when you’ve been living in a society that sends the message “everything is about YOU.” But the truth is “everything is about Him”, even US! And I find this to be an awesome, wonderful thing! Why? Because we weren’t meant to do life alone. We were designed to do it in relation with God.
Once we accept the truth that we were made for Him, instead of living in the mindset that the world revolves around us, we can start participating in the reality that the world revolves around Him. We can allow Him to fill the voids in our life. We can look to Him for the strength, joy, wisdom, and peace that we all desire.
We can wield the weapons of worship, scripture, and prayer with assurance and boldness. We can fulfill our God given purpose, using the talents and abilities that God gave each one of us. Once we take the focus off of ourselves and who we think we are, we can start participating in who God says we are as followers of Jesus.
So who does God say you are?
You are God’s workmanship created to produce good works (Ephesians 2:10).
You are created in God’s likeness. (Ephesians 4:24).
You are a new creature in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19).
You are chosen, holy, and blameless before God (Ephesians 1:4).
You are light in the world (Ephesians 5:9).
You are a branch of the true vine, and a conduit of Christ’s life (John 15: 1-5).
You are no longer a slave to sin (Romans 6:6).
You have confident access to God (Ephesians 3:12)
You are God’s beloved (Colossians 3:12)
You are a citizen of heaven (Philippians 3:20)
Whatever your circumstances, God created you for a purpose. God created you so that you would glorify Him with your life. You are most “who you are” when you surrender your definition and pick up His.
Why?
Because God’s word trumps it all. His word on your life is the final word.
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