Who am I? What is my purpose?
When I hear these questions, it often conjures images of a teenage breakup, where one party says, “It’s not you; it’s me. I just need to go out and discover who I am”. Countless movies and tv shows have similar themes. And while we sometimes relate to it comically, the fact that the “who am I” question has ingrained itself into popular culture says much about its importance. Furthermore, these two questions are elementary to human existence. Nevertheless, somewhere between college, 60 hour a week jobs, and parenthood, I had forgotten to search for answers to these questions. I first heard the answers very early in my travels with JC (Jesus Christ-I prefer to call him by his initials because we’re close like that). I also have to confess that I scoffed at the answers the first time I heard them. However, as the years pass, the answers make more and more sense. So, enough with the suspense, here are the answers.
1) Who am I? I am a child of GOD, and so are You.
2) What is my purpose? MY purpose is to serve GOD, and so is Yours.
When we answer the first question, the answer to the second question is easy. So, I will spend some time discussing the answer to the first question. The key to understanding what it means to be a child of God is equivalent to understanding our identity in Christ. Identity in Christ is a topic in many churches and blog sites. So, I am not trying to reinvent the wheel here, but I think it is vitally important to examine it to some extent. The following are a few of my favorite Bible verses that discuss our identity in Christ:
1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Ephesians 2:10
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
1 Samuel 16:7
But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
Colossians 3:3-4
For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Ephesians 2:19
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household…
1 John 3:1
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
Living into our identity in Christ is supposedly the turning point in our journey with God. I say “supposedly” only because I struggle with my identity, and I have not quite mastered the lesson yet. I, like other people, have many, competing identities. I have the identity of a husband. I have the identity of a parent. I have identity with my career and so forth. While the preceding are very important identities, my first and most important identity is supposed to be my identity in Christ. I have been told and promised, that if I make my identity in Christ the most important identity, the other identities will take care of themsleves. I have to admit. It is a struggle.
In this world, we will also have our identity questioned. Even Jesus had his identity questioned. When Jesus was tempted by Satan in the desert, Satan said, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” Then Satan led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. He said, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here.” Both of those quotes, started with “If you are the son of God”. Basically, Satan was directly assaulting Jesus’ identity. He knew that if he could make Jesus doubt his identity, no good or very little good, could come from him. (Mike Breen, “Resisting Temptation”, Internet Article)
So, be wary of direct assaults on your identity, and also be wary of competing identities. Put your identity in Christ above eveything else.
I’m not the first person to use to the term Jesus-shaped Hole. I wish that I were the first person to use it because it’s an awesome analogy. I truly believe that every person is born with a Jesus-shaped hole in his/her heart. Jesus 101 tells us that we have been separated from God via sin. Whether we realize it or not, we seek re-connection with God, and Jesus is the means by which the reconnection happens. Therefore, there is a longing or a desire to reconnect that could be described as a hole is our hearts. Since Jesus is the route of re-connection with God, the hole is Jesus-shaped. And the only thing that fits a Jesus-shaped hole is Jesus.