Who are you?
Most of the time, this question is asked as others try to determine if what they’ve heard about you is true. It’s a very soul-searching question when we ask ourselves, sorting between the lines and inviting the Holy Spirit to search our hearts and probe our thoughts.
The question is not: who do you want to be? Who do you want others to believe you are? Whose expectations are you trying to meet?
"Who are you?" is not the same as "What do you do?"
I was recently reminded of some of my first encounters in Africa and how refreshing and bold the introductions of many of the people I met were. Regardless of age, gender, education, or cultural expectations, when asked to introduce themselves, a person would state their name and then boldly declare, “I am a born-again Christian saved by the blood of Jesus.”
“I belong to Jesus Christ” is a credential that cannot be bought or earned.
It is the free gift of God given to all who believe in His name. Identity with Christ will never become outdated or expire. He is eternal. To belong to Jesus influences every other aspect of a person’s life. How simple, how empowering, how clear can the answer be?
The listener may or may not be impressed, influenced, or satisfied, but there is assurance and confidence that flows from deep within when you can say, “I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed unto Him (my identity) until that day” (2 Timothy 1:12, NKJV).
Several months ago, I found myself speaking into the lives of young people on a college campus. It was a small group of very intentional and focused business school students. Why me? I have no credentials that give me a platform or firsthand experience. They wanted to know how faith applied to their career path. Does it?
As always, the word of God is the source and supply for wisdom.
Times and places may change, but the heart of man remains the same. People with position and authority, highly credentialed and influential religious leaders, were confused by the reports they were hearing from an unknown and unusual person. He was called John the Baptist, and he was declaring that the Son of God had come.
They asked him, “Who are you?” John confirmed he was not the Christ, Elijah, or a prophet. They asked again, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”
These are two really direct questions we should all be able to clearly and directly answer:
Whose am I?
What does He say about me?
John’s answer:
“I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’” John 1:23 (NIV)
In every setting and situation, when the question is turned to me, I want to say with Christ confidence: I am His and He is mine. I am speaking into the wilderness of the world. There are many highly trained and articulate voices competing with my voice. Speaking and teaching that Jesus is the Christ and He is the only way to the Father is not always well received. But this is my message because He is my identity. “He is the way, the truth, and the life, and I have nothing else to share.”
May I challenge you?
Stay-at-home mom, business student or owner, professor or financial advisor, doctor or construction worker, writer or athlete—across every age, gender, education, or cultural difference, you are the voice crying into the wilderness of a weary and worried world, “Make straight the way” to the life of Christ and find your identity in Him. He will guide and lead you. He will make crooked paths straight and rough places smooth. He will welcome you, forgive you, and call you His own.
