Who am I? When asked that question, the majority of people will answer with some version of what they do: I’m a mom….a farmer….pastor….teacher….doctor…etc. But, that is what you do, it is not who you are.
Who am I? This is a question that burns within our souls from childhood, yearning to be answered. Childhood experiences will speak to it, but we still search for a definitive answer.
Who am I? If I do not know who I am, I don’t really know who you are, and it affects my relationship with you….and with everyone. I act out of my identity…so if I don’t know who I am…I act out of that uncertainty.
Who am I? Deep within my soul…..who am I? Can I really know?
In my quest to find the answer to that question, there are 4 sources to which I can turn:
1. I can look to others to determine who I am. We often fall into this quite easily as we mature. This becomes our sole source often during our teen years. Upon reaching adulthood, we are so accustomed to turning to this source, we find it difficult to separate ourselves from it and look elsewhere. There are inherent problems, though, when I base my identity on the opinion of another person. I will live in the fear of man and for the approval of man. If I am ok only if you say I am ok, then I must be certain that you say I am ok. If you reject me in any way, it must mean I am not ok. Praise then feeds my souls and solidifies my sense of identity. When praise feeds my soul, I am on the precipice of being destroyed by rejection. This vicious cycle is repeated, especially during the teen years.
This also creates quite a dilemma when we have several people in our lives with opposing beliefs. Who do I please? If I please one, the other will reject me. I end up trying to find some middle ground in the hopes of keeping everyone pleased with me…..so I can stay secure in who I am….and I am more confused than ever as to who I am.
2. I can answer this question according to what Satan says about me. Obviously, this choice would lead to a life of accusation, condemnation and despair. He is “the accuser of the brethren”. He is also a liar. I know that, but there are times I listen to his voice and it affects who I say that I am.
3. I can look within myself to find the answer. This may not be ideal, either. It would most likely become performance based. If my day is going well…the house looks neat…school accomplished….patience with my kids….etc. I must be ok. My identity is secure. But, a bad day would cause the opposite reaction and I believe I am a failure….that becomes my identity.
Another grave danger of looking within is that I may think more highly of myself than I ought, which the Bible warns against. I run the danger of exalting myself. It seems we humans have a natural proclivity to self-exaltation. Combine this with an inaccurate view of God, and we see the main components of the Enlightenment and secular humanism.
A close cousin to self-exaltation is narcissism. Many believe that narcissism means one is in love with himself and it is manifested by talking highly of himself. Au contraire! It can mean that, but I would posit that it is quite possible to be narcissistic and self-deprecating as well. Narcissism is a fixation on oneself…a preoccupation with oneself. One can be continually putting themselves down….and be focused on themselves, hence, narcissistic. Self-love does not always show itself by self-exaltation, especially when self-exaltation is demonized. In religious surroundings, self-deprecation is often a more acceptable manifestation of narcissism.
4. I can base my identity on who God says I am. He is the source of all truth, including the truth of my identity. He created me, therefore He would know best the answer to the question of who I am. As we look to His word to learn our identity, remember this is His word, not mine….it is what He is saying, not me. More importantly, it is based on what He has done…not what I have done.
He made me in His image.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Gen. 1:27 ESV
When my oldest son was born, he was a 21″, 8lb 2oz version of his father. He was an image of his dad. As he grew, he developed many of his dad’s mannerisms. Anyone who knew Butch, upon meeting Jared, even in Butch’s absence, knew whose son he was.
“He is just like his dad.”
“He’s the spittin’ image of his father.”
Several times, I nearly wrapped my arms around him from behind, thinking he was my husband, not my son. If someone wanted to know what Butch looked like, they did if they knew Jared.
That’s what it means to be made ‘in the image’ of God. We look like him. We have his mannerisms. If people want to know what God looks like, they should be able to if they know us. He has made us like Himself. Trouble is…we forget this. For centuries, man has tried to make himself like God…often apart from God. In the garden, after eating the forbidden fruit, Eve’s response was,
The serpent deceived me, and I ate. Gen. 3:13 ESV
A more accurate translation, according to some, is, “The serpent caused me to forget, and I ate.” Forget what? What did the serpent promise her? That when she ate of the fruit, she would be like God. But….she already was like God…..He created her to be like Him….in His image. And she forgot. She believed the lie that she must do something to be like God. It was a good desire….a noble intent….she wanted to be like the Person she walked with every evening. But, she forgot that He had already made her like Himself. And so often, we forget. We believe the lie that we must do so we can be. We already are. Just be. Any attempt to do so you can be is similar to making oneself like God apart from what God did.
I am like Jesus in His glorified, perfected state.
….as He is, so also are we in this world. I John 4:17 NASB
John is not talking about Jesus as He was when He walked on earth…a meek, suffering servant. Yes, we need to be a meek, suffering servant like Jesus, but that isn’t what John is saying here…..he isn’t comparing us to Jesus when He was on earth. He is saying we are like Jesus is now…..in heaven…..glorified and perfected! That is how we are here….in this world….now! Not because of anything we have done, but because of His love perfected in us. We can do nothing to glorify or perfect ourselves, or make us like Jesus is in heaven. He’s done it all!
He has made me a partaker of His divine nature.
….He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature. 2 Peter 1:4
Partaker means partner, or one who shares in/with. The Greek word for divine is theios, a form of theos, God or Godhead. Theios means Godlike. He has given us His promises so that we may share in His divine, Godlike, nature.
He made us a little lower than Himself.
What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. Ps. 8:3,4 ESV
The KJV translates this as “a little lower than the angels” It is the only time the word used in this verse is translated ‘angels’. The Hebrew word used in this verse is actually…..Elohim, which is translated God, referring to the Trinity, about 91% of the time. Almost 9%, it is translated ‘god’ or ‘gods’. God….Elohim….not only made you in His image…..He made you a little lower than Himself! Then, He, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the only One worthy of glory and honor…..crowned you with glory and honor!
We do not exalt ourselves. If we do, we will be brought low. The end result of humanism is a debasing of mankind….survival of the fittest….a Lord of the Flies type of society.
We have no need to exalt ourselves. Look at what His hands have made in us! He has given us a position that the only One higher is Himself. I have no desire to repeat Lucifer’s attempt. But more often, I am guilty of not stepping into the position He has given me.
We do not need to make ourselves like God…..He already did! Satan has convinced us that we must do so that we can be. We grow discouraged and forget who we are in Him. God is saying, “I made you like Me. You do not need to do. Just be.”
“Thank you, Almighty God, for making me in Your image…..like You…and for allowing me to share in Your divine nature. I receive that and embrace it. I step into the position that You have given me. In this way, when another wants to know what You look like, they can if they know me.”