Who are you?
This is such a fundamental question. It’s common to identify ourselves and others by what we do, where we’re from, what we’ve experienced, what life stage we’re in, or even how we feel. Yet, those things are not who we are.
These categories we use aren’t wrong. The problem comes when we ask those categories to do more than they can do and ask them to hold all that we are.
We enter an identity crisis when we find our identity in various categories, and they collapse or change. But God calls us to find ourselves in something more than earthly categories; he calls us to find our identity in Him.
Who is God?
John Calvin said, “Without knowledge of self, there is no knowledge of God…without knowledge of God, there is no knowledge of self.”
God’s love is the foundation for the universe, for everything. Out of his love and goodness, he spoke all things into existence.
God is transcendent. He is above creation, the source and author of it, yet God is personally involved in His creation, actively sustaining all He has made.
God is also relational, existing as three persons in one being.
We must start with God to rightly understand identity. What comes to our minds when we think about God really is the most important thing about us.
Who are We?
Genesis 1:27, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
We see here that God is the creator and has created humans, male and female, in His own image.
This reality sets mankind apart from all the other living things God has made. All humans are image-bearers. This is why we care about the unborn, the elderly, and everyone in between. This is why we value all people, even those who are hard to bear! We are all made in God’s image.
The image of God should be seen not merely individually but communally. Just as God exists within a loving community of Father, Son, and Spirit experiencing eternal and perfect love, mankind bears God’s image in relationships of community and love.
In her book Cultural Counterfeits, Jen Oshman says,
“We are never self-made or isolated, and we never have been. We are couched in community, interdependent with others, and dependent on God. Who we are has everything to do with whose we are. We belong to the Lord, our Maker, and we belong to one another.”
We must find our deepest sense of self in God, not in categories, roles, successes, or failures. We are made in God’s image, making us dependent on Him and accountable to Him.
What is our Purpose?
It’s natural to ask, “What am I doing here, anyway?” As Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 3:11: “God “has put eternity into man’s heart” We are meant to process these big questions!
Our purpose in this life is to reflect (or image) our Maker. Just as the moon does not have its own light, it only reflects the sun's light.
Again, Jen Oshman reminds us, “While we all have the same purpose—to glorify God—we are a diverse people with innumerable and unique contexts, callings, skills, and burdens. Our God is creative, and he made an immeasurable diversity of people to reflect him. The way you and I create and cultivate will not look the same, but we are each designed to bring order, beauty, and harmony to the place where God has us. That might be in your own home, on Wall Street, in politics, in overseas missions, in your cul-de-sac, or in your city. Wherever you are, how can you see—really see—the people and places around you and bring the good, the beautiful, and the true image of God to bear on that setting? To do so is to bring God glory.”
This is why we are here - to reflect God - to show what he is like in how we live!
There’s a Problem
We don’t have to look far to see that our design has been marred and our roles frustrated.
In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve sinned by eating the fruit forbidden by God. Adam and Eve reached for independence, self-determination, and freedom but got sorrow, confusion, and death instead. Put another way; they tried to self-identify instead of believing in God for their identity.
Because of this first sin, we are all born with a sinful nature. And because of sin, we cannot love God and fulfill our purpose of enjoying and glorifying Him.
Richard Phillips describes a helpful illustration “A good illustration of the image of God in fallen man is that of an automobile windshield that has shattered. The glass remains there but is so damaged that it will no longer function properly. Likewise, when humanity fell into sin, we became guilty, alienated from the God we still know, and corrupted in our thoughts and desires. In short, the image of God has been distorted by total depravity, so our communion with him is lost.”
We are left with one resounding question, “can we, as sinful image-bearers, be restored?”
Our Only Hope
There is good news in the great exchange! Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died in our place and took our condemnation. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For our sake he (God) made him (Jesus) to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him (Jesus) we might become the righteousness of God.” Just as sin entered the world through one man (Adam), so did redemption (Jesus).
We who follow Christ are now healed. Our biggest problem has been solved! We have been reconciled to our holy God, not by works but by faith alone.
As Christians, we now have a new identity! We are in Christ, justified, adopted, new creations, saints, and servants. At the heart of what it means to be a Christian is to receive a new identity.
Jen Wilkin says, “Our complete freedom from sin is certain, but it’s not sudden. So we rest confidently in our justification, we labor diligently in our sanctification, and we hope expectantly in our glorification.”
We may be tempted to find our identity in homemaking, parenting, marriage, friendships, work, and so much more on any given week. What freedom we have when we truly rest in our identity found in Christ alone, not by our works or categories used to explain our lives.
Whether my house is clean or dirty, whether my marriage is thriving or in the deficit, whether my kid is making me proud or embarrassing me, whether I’m getting accolades at work or am unappreciated … all that matters is what God has said about who I am.
What he has spoken over me is all that matters.