It's been a long day / week / month / year / life. I've been stuck in a philosophical and introspective mood for a few days now, and I had some alone time on the drive home tonight. Naturally, me and God had a good conversation (it's a great way to spend "alone" time). Maybe this post will hit the spot for you.
The topic is identity. The question is: Who are you? The answer says a lot about everything about you. I'm not talking about the world's answer, or even God's answer right now. I'm talking about your answer. Pretend I've never met you before...if you only had about 30 seconds to attempt to give me the essence of "you", what would you say?
Where you draw your identity from and who you draw it from means everything. It's the difference between satisfaction and dissatisfaction in life. It's the difference between trust and stress. It's the difference between significance and insignificance.
Are you a college student? A son? A daughter? An employee at _______ ? Are you a baseball player? Are you a lover...a fighter?
The point I'm trying to make is that the way you see yourself is likely the way you'll live your life. Are you waking up in the morning just trying to make the best of the time or is your life lived for something bigger?
For all my growing up years, I was desperate to do, say, think and be so many things. My identity came, as I imagine many of yours do as well, solely from what other people thought of me. However, this year I've finally come to grips with the big picture. Here it is...
As long as you spend your life trying to do _____ , or accomplish _____ for whatever reason you set out for yourself, you won't be satisfied. Your identity will be tied up in the success or failure of whatever you're putting all your hope into. So many people's self-image is directly tied to their trophy case. Their identity is locked up in temporal, unreliable pieces of life.
You want real freedom? Not the freedom you see in beer commercials...I'm talking about that deep breath, open arms, "God is good" kind of freedom. Find your identity in something solid, something dependable, something eternal. Comes to grips with the person in the mirror and realize that the eyes staring back at you are not your own. They are God's eyes. The hands you see are not your hands. They are God's hands. The feet you're staring down at are not your feet. They are God's feet and they are meant to walk a specific path. The life you live is not your own. It's God's life, meant to be lived for His purposes.
You can either spend your days running from that truth and chase your own rabbits, or you can cling to the One who gave you your fingerprints. You can either waste precious hours and days trying to carve out an identity for yourself, or you can embrace the one sitting there waiting for you. Each one of us has a different purpose, but our identity is the same. Each face is different, but we are all members of one body. Each skill and ability is different, but we are all soldiers in the same army. (Rom. 12:4-8)
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My name is James. I'm a child and servant of Almighty God. I'm a tool in His hands. I'm an imperfect, weak and broken shadow of the man I'm supposed to be. However, I exist solely for the purpose of bringing Him glory, making Him known and blessing as many lives as possible in the process. I have no idea what the future holds, but I'm submitted to the will of a sovereign and mighty Creator who has all the answers.
That's the essence of James Ballenger Jenkins in one paragraph. That's my identity.
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Who are you?
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