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“Who exactly am I?”
Our modern culture invites us to ask this all the time. Identity has become fluid or malleable. We can invent and reinvent ourselves almost on a daily basis. We switch careers. We move around. We join sub-cultures. We have online identities. We can even change our gender. It’s a world of opportunity—but it also creates angst and anxiety. Moreover, there is nothing bigger than us to form our identity. The breakdown of families, national identities and belief in God all mean we ourselves have become the measure of our lives. In the past, you might have had a humble job, but you were proud to be part of the company, and proud to be part of your nation. But those corporate identities don’t matter so much now. Now identity is down to me—something I achieve rather than something I receive.
We enjoy creating our own identity, until we find ourselves unable to deliver.
So we have a problem. We enjoy creating our own identity, until we find ourselves unable to deliver. For many people the pressure to achieve and sustain our self-built identities becomes too much. Rates of depression are higher than ever before, and part of that is caused by the brittleness of our sense of who we are, which means we are constantly evaluating and re-evaluating our identity, striving to confirm it and dealing with failures to live up to it.
So the question is: Who am I?
A Curious Answer
We find the Bible’s answer to that exact question in a surprising place—the account of Moses meeting God in the burning bush. Overwhelmed by the size of the task God has just given him, Moses asks, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11).
God’s answer? “I will be with you” (v 12).
Is that an answer?! How does it help you know who you are to know that someone else is with you? I think it is an answer—in fact, the answer. God says to Moses that his identity is tied to God’s identity. Moses says, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” We might have said, “Moses, you’re the ideal person. You were brought up in the Egyptian court. You have seen your people’s suffering. You can do it.” But God says, “I will be with you”. God is the One who will make the difference. Moses does not need to have higher self-esteem; he needs a greater sense of God’s presence.
Better than making our own identities
You can be a self-made person. And for a while, you may enjoy your autonomy. But it’s hard work. Whether you’re trying to fit in at school or prove yourself in your career or keep up with the latest fashions, eventually the cracks will appear. Always the question remains: Will my self-made identity withstand the pressures of this life, and then the test of divine appraisal beyond this life?
But God makes a better offer. He says to you, “I will be with you”. You can walk through life with me. You can base your sense of self on your knowledge of me—find your confidence and worth in knowing that I am there for you, and here with you. You can know that I am with you, and your achievements and your failures will not affect that status. “I will be with you.”
Imagine trying to visit the Queen of England at Buckingham Palace in London. You’re going to be asked, “Who are you? What gives you the right to be here?” Most of us are not going to get past the front gate. But what about Kate Middleton? When she was 15 years old, she would have got no further than us. Now, she can say, “I’m with him. I married the prince.” Who is she? She is Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge. She gets that identity from her husband. In the same way, we get our identity from Jesus our Husband. United to Christ, we are children of God the Father.
Later in Exodus, God describes Israel as his “firstborn son” (Exodus 4:22). In the New Testament, God makes that same assurance to those who receive him through the person of his Son, the Lord Jesus: “To those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). Who am I? One of the children of God. We are people who are defined by our God.
Who am I? One of the children of God.
Yesterday you may have been a great employee or you may have had a terrible day at work. You may have been a great parent or child, or a selfish one. You may have been praised, or mocked, or ignored. You may have been mainly obedient or horribly sinful. But if you have received Christ as your Lord and Saviour, then you are a child of God—and nothing can change that. That means that today you can go out with confidence—not in what you can do, but in who is with you.
Who am I? I am a child of God. And today God says these wonderful words to you: “I am with you.”
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Tim Chester is a senior faculty member of Crosslands Training and has written over 40 books. He has a PhD in theology and PgDip in history along with 25 years' experience of pastoral ministry. He is married with two grown-up daughters and lives in rural Derbyshire, where he is part of a church plant.
