Thought for Today
Exodus 3:14 But Moses said to God, "If I come to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" (Exod. 3:13 NRS) God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." He said further, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'I AM has sent me to you.'"
Mark 8:27 Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?"
At some point in our lives, we all are confronted with the question, the issue of our own identity. Who am I? Who do people say that I am? I do not believe that Jesus asked the disciples because Jesus had any questions about his own identity. Even in his youth, Jesus was aware of his identity, When his parents lost track of him in Jerusalem, “Luke 2:49 He said to them, "Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" Jesus told the Jews who questioned whether he was the Messiah, “John 10:30 The Father and I are one."
Jesus was comfortable in knowing his identity. But for many of us, the question remains. Sometimes we first become aware of it during puberty. As we approach adulthood, we see the possibilities ahead and wonder about the arc of our lives going forward. Others face the question at other times in their lives; but, we all ultimately must decide who we are. In more formal terms, we all must find the locus of our identity. I first wrote about it earlier this month on Ascension Day. I last mentioned it this past Friday.
Who am I? What defines the real me? Before you begin to worry about whether I am slipping off the rails (any more than I usually seem to be), I am not going through some existential crisis of identity. I first began to ponder this question for myself as I began my teen years. Long before I met Greta, long before I answered God’s call to ministry, I questioned myself about who I am. For me, the answer to the question has been an ongoing revelation. The answer after I met Greta was not entirely the same answer of today. Neither is the answer today the same as it was in my 20s, 30s, 40s and so on.
The more I read the Bible, the more I study myself and the scriptures, the more complex and nuanced the answer seems to be. In elementary school, the locus of my identity was intricately associated with my name, address and telephone number. My mother grilled me on that until I knew the answers by heart. I knew my entire, full name. I knew my parents’ names. I even knew that I was named for my 2 grandfathers. When the teacher called roll, I knew when to answer “Here.”
Today, I know that I am more than a name, an address or any other words or numbers used as identifiers. I am more than the knowledge gained at any level of my education. I am more than the sum total of all those things. I am even more than my identity as a native Texan!
Today, the locus of my identity is my being a Christian. The question for me is not so much “Who am I?” as it is “Whose am I?” The real me, the person I am is defined by the One I worship. I am a child of God. Yes, there are lots of us in that category. Some of us are acutely aware of the fact. The internet tells me that at last count there are about 2.38 billion Christians worldwide in a total population of about 8.1 billion people. That means about 30% of the people on earth are Christians.
Am I distinguishable from all those other Christians? Am I unique in such a large crowd. Jesus said, “Matthew 10:30 And even the hairs of your head are all counted.” If God takes the time to keep track of how thick my hair (no longer) is, I am comfortable in God knowing who I am and by that am comfortable myself in knowing who and whose I am. I am comfortable in knowing that Jesus also said, “John 14:2 In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.” I know who and whose I am now and in eternity.
Stay safe, think about whose you are, trust God,
Pastor Ray