If you had to take a step back and observe your life, who would you say you are?
If you took a moment to privately reflect on this, would you first say you are a spouse, parent, artist, teacher, caregiver, or architect? Would you say you are musical, athletic, or academically gifted? What character or other attributes pop to your mind? The answers to these questions are seemingly endless among us.
It’s so very easy to jump to these descriptions because it is just part of our everyday life and culture to define ourselves by our jobs, roles, and circumstances. How often have you been in a social gathering and someone has asked, “So, what do you do?” Often, this question tees up a response to professional responsibilities.
Or, maybe we wonder: Who am I… really? What defines me? Sometimes we evaluate this through the lens of life’s experiences or how we have been labeled by other humans.
What if we asked ourselves different questions? What if we asked others different questions?
There are times I marched through life with an identity that was almost robotic. I was my job, roles, responsibilities, to-do list. Or, I lived by who I was told I was. This is humbling to admit.
It’s such a gentle slope, isn’t it? Sometimes, we can begin to believe the person we are is what we have accomplished, what we find to be our strengths, or how we have been defined or described by others. We can hang our hats on our achievements and boast about our successes. Other times, we can lament our past, and find ourselves labeling our lives through the lens of shame, fear, guilt, condemnation, or regret.
God created us for relationship, work, and to experience the joys of life. And, I believe he celebrates with us. God also sees the fractured places in our lives and acknowledges them with care. But, I believe God loves us too much to allow us to remain in the brokenness.
God also loves us too much to allow us to identify ourselves by the harmful words spoken over us. We are not defined by the critical words that may have been spoken over us by a family member, friend, colleague, etc. Friends: be wise to take humble, constructive feedback to heart, but discerning not to allow toxic statements penetrate the heart so carefully constructed by God.
What if, before anything else, we asked who we are to God? What if we let Him remind us that through our salvation and faith in Him we are Loved? Cherished? Redeemed? What if tomorrow, before our feet hit the ground, we stopped to remind ourselves we are a child of the Lord? It can transform how we view every victory and hurdle when we change our lens to focus in on our real identity.
The first portion of 1 John 3:1 (NIV) states, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!”
The Book of John is thought to be written by the disciple John, who had the opportunity to see Jesus’ ministry in real-time. I have to believe that in seeing the way Jesus cared for others, John was able to understand God’s love and mercy for the world.
Friends, I want you to know that you are seen and adored by God. You are cherished in the celebration and you are loved in the valley. In every season of life, please take care to know who you are in Christ.
Next time someone inquires about who you are…what truth will come to mind?
Rooted in Grace and Grit 