Who Are You, Really?

      Did you know it was Halloween last night?  Ha! Ha! Who didn’t know that right?  Halloween is fun for many folks.  Many of us love to dress up in costumes.  Some of us love the scary parts of Halloween.  Others like to decorate their yards and/or use their talents to design an exquisitely carved pumpkin.  Almost all of us like the candy! 

        While thinking about Halloween last night, I began to think of the costumes – or more specifically the masks that we might hide behind.  It is fitting, that we should examine ourselves from time to time.  We’ve heard stories of someone doing some wild and crazy thing that is totally out of their character and say they are going through an identity crisis.  We may have known of someone who wanted to leave their old life behind to “go find themselves.”  We hear about folks being stripped of their good name and losing financial assets due to identity theft.  It is important to know who we are.  Who are you, really??

        Sometimes we classify ourselves based on who we are related to.  I had a friend tell me once, “I have never been just me.  I have always been known as someone’s daughter, sister, wife or mother.  I have never been just me.”  I think a lot of us feel that way sometimes.  However, who we are amounts to so much more than our place in the family. 
        Maybe we think our circumstances make us who we are.  Don’t make that mistake either.  Someone might be going through a divorce; but don’t let that divorce define you.  You may be the victim of an accident; but don’t let that experience put you in some kind of statistical category.  You may have lost a loved one – don’t let that loss – that loneliness - label you.  You may have just been laid off from your job and/or be facing financial struggles.  Please don’t let your financial status characterize you. 
         OK – sure our family helps shape our personality and our circumstances have an impact too.  However, as adults what is going on in our lives is where we are not who we are.  Remember that.  You are not a failure just because you are going through some tough times.  If you are unemployed – well that is where you are in your life’s journey.  It is not an indication of your personality.

All this brings us back to the original question.  Who are you?  Each one of has to answer that individually.  What is the first thing that pops into your head when someone asks you that?  Christianity is an ongoing process.  We should always be striving to grow and mature in our faith.  I know I say that often, but it is the truth.

 We should be constantly learning and growing.  Paul said – “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3: 12-14 NKJV)  We must continually press on. 

I mention striving and growing because through the years I’ve answered the ‘who are you’ question in different ways.  I used to identify myself with the circumstances of family and/ or as a mother, daughter, sister, etc.  It took me quite some time to realize that who I am related to might influence my personality – but then again, you can’t control the family you are born into.  Then I realized that what I was going through in my life’s journey is not what defines me either.  It is what I have on the inside – how I react to my place in life – that tells me who I am.  I hate to admit it, but it was quite some time before the first thing I thought of in response to that question was “Christian.” 

I am a Christian – a forgiven sinner.  Oh, no – I am not perfect, not by a long shot.  But I am one of God’s daughters!  He is my Heavenly Father and He loves me.  Christ loves me too because He gave His life for me so that I could be forgiven.  Folks, we must claim our identity.  We must let our being revolve around His being.  It is our duty to do what we can to bring others to Him.  We can’t do that unless we show them we are followers of the Lord.  The Israelites had a strong sense of identity.  They knew they were God’s people.  Do we know we are?  Have we allowed ourselves to become His totally and completely?  Has being a Christian become the core of your personality?

        On Wednesday night at our congregation’s “trunk or treat,” I didn’t recognize some of the teenaged boys who were dressed in their costumes.  I had to wait until the masks came off to know who they were.  Would someone from your church family recognize you if they saw you at home or at work?  Are we the same person everywhere we go?  Do we wear one mask around our Christian family and another mask around our work friends?  Christ has told us we can’t wear two masks (serve two masters).  We must give ourselves over to Him.

        Recently, my mother has used a phrase that I really like.  “Let the Son shine in.”  That reminds me of a verse that is quoted pretty often.  The verse is Matthew 5:16 and many of you can probably quote it.  “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”  (NKJV)  If we don’t light the Son shine in our hearts and souls we won’t be able to light our own light shine for the glory of the Father.  In other words, love the Lord with all your heart and let the world know who you are!!! 

Christ above all things,

Robin