Who Am I?

What is your destiny? Have you found yourself? What is your meaning or purpose in life? These are questions that have surfaced in various ways, especially in the modern west over the past few decades. Unfortunately it seems more often than not it is either an unhealthy obsession or allowed to take up too much time in our lives…like years. People will take tours of countries…or others call them pilgrimages so as to “find themselves.” At the bottom of these questions is one question from which they all grow: Who Am I?

Although there can be wasteful and unnecessary pursuits made to answer this question I do believe that it can be done right, and namely by followers of Jesus. For the follower of Jesus it is a question that leads us to the gospel and true purpose based on our being created in the image of the Creator.

Who Am I?

Who are you? What words can be used to describe who you are…not what you do. Who are you? What words might friends and family use to speak of you? I answer: husband, father, pastor, student, cook, athlete, blogger, and podcaster.

What Do I Do?

When you have either been asked or you have thought about who you are it is often followed closely by what you do.

What activities or responsibilities are connected to those identities we considered above? When someone hears that you are an engineer…a teacher…pilot…father…inventor… electrician…athlete…artist…landscaper…etc…it is often followed with questions. People will begin to ask questions pertaining to the activities you engage in as relates to your “identity”.

What activities do you usually tell others about? Even if the question from a friend is more general and not necessarily connected to some type of “identity” or vocation. If your friends were asked to describe what you do across a given month what might they say?

Let me pause before moving on to say that I ask this because this will help us consider our identity in Christ here in a moment.

Now allow me to take the question a little further regarding what you do.

Imagine you were asked to journal at the end of every waking hour for 30 days listing off what you did in that hour. How much would match with what you say you do? Parent, would your journal entries reflect the activities you say you do with your children? Teacher, would your boasted diligence be seen in the hourly record? Student, how would your journal entries match with what you tell others about your study habits? Athlete, do you say you put more effort in than your journal says?

I will give my answer. What I say to others and what ends up in my hypothetical “journal entry” do not match. Within each of the identities I listed above, the self-descriptions I give in conversation so often seems to exceed what really happens at home, church, and gym.

I believe that most are not making an attempt to deceive the people around us. We are speaking of what we legitimately hope to do or accomplish within our identity or vocation.

This goes back to asking “Who Am I?” and “What Do I Do?” For the Christian, we not only want to serve God in the various sections of our lives, but we wish to honor him in our doing. However, we often look in the mirror where we hope to see a mom…doctor…business owner…artist who is hitting it out of the park. We see someone looking back at us who is so far from what others think of us. They hear us speaking of our duties and activities, yet they hear them as though they are accomplished while we merely speak of what we TRY to do.

This is the human experience, but for the follower of Christ the conversation goes on.

Who I am

It is this short statement “Who I Am” that is ground breaking for the Christian. This is the bedrock from which we are able to ask the question: “Who Am I?” With the swap of just two short words we have a very different concept before us. The phrase we have before us now is no question. It is definitive. It is a sort of purpose statement if you will.

Although we began with the question “Who Am I?” we must not allow our thinking to start there. For biblically it is the identity (the Who I Am) that grounds us and keeps us on our feet.

In Christ you are:

• a saint — To all those in Rome who are…called to be saints (Rom. 1:7). To the church of God that is in Corinth…call to be saints (1 Cor. 1:2). Paul…to the saints…in Ephesus (Eph. 1:1)
• a son — In Christ Jesus you are all sons of God (Gal. 3:26). He predestined us for adoption…as sons (Eph. 1:5). I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons…to me (2 Cor. 6:18)
• ransomed — Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers (1 Pet. 1:18). By your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation (Rev. 5:9).
• redeemed — Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law (Gal. 3:13). Christ gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness (Titus 2:14).
• remade — If anyone is in Christ, he is new creation (2 Cor. 5:17)
• reconciled — While we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son (Rom. 5:10). God…reconciled us to himself (2 Cor. 5:18).

In Christ we have a new nature and standing before God. This forms in us an unchangeable identity. By this we have reason for joy and hope as we live out the various roles and identities (vocations) God has given us. As I said at the beginning, searching out the answer of our identity leads the follower of Christ back to the gospel. The gospel alters our response to “Who Am I”? No matter the trade or vocation, age or maturity of the believer this definitive statement makes a change. The first word to describe each and every Christ follower is “saint”.

Final Thought

No need to find purpose but instead find the one who has a designed purpose for you.

We need the gospel. We need the apostle John reminding us that we are children of God. The words of Paul speaking of his readers as saints must resound in our ears. Peter’s address to his audience as elect exiles needs to be heard in our day. We must begin answering the question “Who Am I?” in the way that scripture answers it.

In this we find the blessing of the simplicity of the Christian life. We don’t need to go on pilgrimage or spend months contemplating our purpose in life. In Christ we have been reconciled to the one who created us and has designed us for a purpose. When we seek and abide with our Creator and Savior he will lead us in our purpose. He has revealed his purposes for the men and women of his people within the 66 books of his holy words. Every occurrence of “Thus says the Lord” is a purpose statement for God’s people. Every promise we come across secures our hope and joy as we live out that purpose.

In this is Christian freedom. We don’t need to live in anxiety with regard to our purpose or God’s will. The Lord of heaven has reached down by his Spirit to open to us the treasures of his word so that we may know his purpose for us. Let us go with hope and gratitude to that holy book.

This post has been inspired by the late Jerry Bridges (1929-2016). I recently read his short devotional “Who Am I?: Identity in Christ“. It was encouraging and enlightening; please check out this (less-than-100-page) book.