Experiencing You: Who Am I?

Who am I was yelled from the top of a building structure by Jackie Chan in his movie, "Who Am I?" back in 1998 and I think it is a question we wrestle with day in and day out. Sometimes we get caught in the mundane and simply settle for, "I am who I am." But who am I? What is my identity? And how can I live out of who I am if I don't know who I am?

I think we need to get back to creation to see who we are at the core. According to Genesis 1:26a-27 it says:

Then God said, ‘Let us make human beings in our image, in our likeness . . . So God created human beings in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

According to this verse, we are made in God's image, his likeness. Which means, from my understanding, that we are righteous, holy, loving, forgiving, free and the list goes on. But I don't think many of us live out of that identity on a daily basis. Why?

Because there is a twist. And that twist is sin. Sin has given us a new description of who we are. Remember, sin is anything that opposes God, either through our heart or our actions. Instead of freedom, we are burdened by the ugliness of who we are now in light of what we thought we were. And because God opposes sin, we deserve His wrath. Romans says that "the wages of sin is death." Not simply a physical death, because we will all die, but a spiritual death which is seperation from God for eternity.

Thankfully there is another twist. Graciously Jesus took on the weight and the payment of our sin to the cross and conqured death. Jesus took the wrath of God to give us life. Take a look at Ephesians 2:4-8:

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.

Through Christ alone, he gives us a new identity, actually he gives us our old identity. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” The old identity is gone, the new identiy, the one you had a creation is the one you should be living in. And because of Christ's activity in the world and our lives Ephesians 2:10 nails who we are, “For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Who am I? I am "in Christ" and if I am in Christ the picture is, I am clothed with Christ (Galatians 3:26-27) and if we are clothed we should be wearing compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience and then some (Colossians 3:12).

Who am I?

I am in Christ, living each moment as Christ is living through me with grace, kindness, gentleness, compassion, humility and love in order to make a difference in people’s lives.

Who are you? Share with me your thoughts, struggles, questions as it relates to your identity and where it is found. Would love to interacte with you on this.