Who Are You?

"... as he is, so are we in this world," (I John 4:17).

It is said that children have five instinctive questions they strongly desire to have answered: Who I am?  Where did I come from?  Why am I here?  What can I do?  Where do I go when I die?    If you know the answers to these questions, you are rare among men, for the vast majority of people die without ever knowing why they lived.

Let's just deal with the first question in this blog:  WHO AM I?  

Even Christians who have been saved many years do not seem to grasp the knowledge of who they really are.  David said, "I am fearfully and wonderfully made..." (Psalm 139:14).  Are you not amazed at your own being? You are a fantastic creation... a conglomerate of systems harmoniously at work to sustain your earthly existence.  Yet, you are so much more.  No research scientists, biology or physiology majors, chemists, or other brilliant minds can discover the source of your morals, love, thoughts, ideas, or personality.  You are not just a beautiful, physical being; you are a spiritual being living in a body that was made mortal by sin, but which shall become immortal by virtue of salvation through Jesus Christ.

You first step to freedom from man-made opinions, ideas and concepts of who you are or who you should be is to discover who God made you to be.  People have expectations of what you should do because of what they believe you are.   Some of those expectations are defined by your occupation in life.  If  you're a janitor, dentist, mother, teacher, banker, pilot, builder, plumber, etc., then people expect you to do a certain job and to have certain skills.  But what you do still does not define who you are...  What you do (especially for a living) may change; but who you are will remain the same.

I have been many things in this life:  a daughter, songwriter and musician, play writer and director,  realtor, occupational therapist,  dean of a school of ministry, office worker, field instructor,  conference speaker, worship leader,  dancer, singer, seamstress, hostess, missionary, wife, mother, student and teacher, investor, independent associate with several major companies, counselor, and now "blogger" can be added to the list.   But, who am I? 

The people of Jesus' day struggled to define him.  "Who art thou?"  "Tell us plainly."  [Jn. 1:22; Jn. 8:25].  It's important to truly believe in Jesus, that He is who claims to be.

"I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins,"  (John 8:24).

Your salvation depends on accepting the testimony of the holy scriptures, of  Father God, and of Jesus Christ himself: that He is the Word of God made flesh.  You must know by faith that Jesus indeed was born of a virgin and that the testimony of John the Baptist and the original apostles are the very truth of God.

Until you believe in Jesus and get to know Him intimately, you will never know who you are.  Who did Jesus say He was?  Let's look at the testimony of  a few scriptures:

1.     "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst,"  (John 6:35).

2.     "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live," (John 11:25).

3.     "Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am," (John 13:13).

4.     "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman," (John 15:1).

5.     "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life,"  (John 8:12).  cp. Jn. 9:5

    

6.    "Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things," (John 8:28).

7.  "Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep," (Jn. 10:7).

There is only one Jesus Christ who is, Savior and Lord, Alpha and Omega, Bright and Morning Star, Beginning and End, Son of God and Son of Man, King of Kings and Lord of lords.  Yet, when we receive Jesus, we're destined to conform to his image and likeness.

  

"For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren," (Ro. 8:29).

"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord,"  (2 Cor. 3:18).

If you are being who you were created to be, then you can confess the following:

1.     I am a child of God. (Ro. 8:16)

2.     I am a new creature in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 5:17)

3.     I am a partaker of His divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4)

4.     I am an heir of God and a joint heir with Christ Jesus.  (Ro. 8:17)

5.     I am above only and not beneath. (Dt. 28:13)

6.     I am God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works that God prepared for me to do (Eph. 2:10).

7.     I am the light of the world. (Mt. 5:14).

8.     I am a part of the Body of Christ.  (Ro. 12:5; I Cor. 10:16; 1 Cor. 12:12; Eph. 3:6; Eph. 4:12)

9.     I am the salt of the earth. (Mt. 5:13).

Who are you?   How do you want to be known?  When we're gone from this life, how do we want to be remembered?

Remember me as a "woman of the Word".   That's how I want to be known.  My greatest love in this life is the Word of God.  It has fed me and kept me alive. It has strengthened me when I was weak and calmed my fears when I was afraid.  It has lifted me up when I was deeply depressed and it has healed me when I was sick.  I am in love with God's Word.  My greatest joy in life is wrapped up in His Word.  Jesus is the Word made flesh.  He lives in me and we are one.  I love Him, although I do not feel worthy of Him.  I long to be more like Him and to spark others to love Him deeply and to appreciate all that He is. 

Who am I?  I pray that I am a "joint that supplies"  (Eph. 4:16).  I am one who is running this race with patience so that at the end I may receive a crown of life.   I am a testimony to the goodness and mercy of God.  I am a jewel in God's crown and a thorn in Satan's side.  I am a sign and a wonder that only God could have created.  I am a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.  I am an intercessor who knows God and is known by God.  I am everything He says I am and so are you.  We are Christians.

Who are you?  "What sayest thou of thine self?"  (John 1:22).  

Who are you?  Jesus stated in Matthew 5:14, "You are the light of the world...".   Next week we will look deeper into who we are as the children of light.

"... as he is, so are we in this world," (I John 4:17).