Who Am I?

I blog, but I am not a blogger.

I teach, but I am not a teacher.

I lead, but I am not a leader.

I minister, but I am not a minister.

So who am I?

That question has plagued me most of my life. A few years ago, I finally got the point. Now I knew who I was. But over the years the question comes back for some unknown reason. I know who I am intellectually but that realization had left my heart. That deep down knowing had escaped with the years and was replaced by the inevitable question. Who am I?

Our identity, or how we see ourselves, will often determine our destiny. How we see ourselves is mostly determined by how others see and respond to us. It is as if everyone we encounter has a mirror on their forehead. As we look at them we see ourselves reflected back. The image we see is what that person thinks of us. So everyone we meet provides some input to our identity. And the more significant that person is to me the more of an impact he has on who I am.

As children we get our identity from their parents or those who take care of our needs. If there is love and acceptance their identity is positive and they are free to risk failure. If that love is conditional and the parent is critical, their identity will be negative and they will fear failure so they will often under achieve. As the child grows up, the parent’s expectations will influence their identity, because that is how they perceive their child. Later in life friends and associates form our identity as they may become more significant than our parents.

Is the answer to the question, “I am who others see in me?” It is when we allow that to happen. It is if they are the most significant ones in our life.

There is an alternative. When other people are most significant to you, they control who you think you are and who you will become. But when you make God first in your life, you are who The Lord sees in you. Your identity comes not from human sources with imperfect eyesight, but from the one who created you in the first place. He created you for a purpose. Many years ago, I realized that I was a son of the almighty God and that was my identity. When I dedicated my life to serving Him, the question persisted, “How do I best serve Him.”

When our identity comes from how others perceive us, we spend our time trying to please them. When our identity comes from God, we want to please Him.

I am a child of the living God and a follower of Jesus Christ. My role is to follow Him where ever He leads – whatever that is and wherever that may lead. I no longer live to please men.

Galatians 1:10 (NIV) Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.