The search for Identity
Last Saturday, I was privileged to hear a message from brother LT
Jeyachandran in SIB who spoke about “the search for identity”.
A very basic, fundamental truth is that identity does not come from
what we do but from who we are. When God revealed Himself to His
people, He did not say “I do or I speak”, but “I am”.
Why did God create us to be in families – father, mother, son,
daughter, brother, sister? It was made this way to help us understand
God better. In the Trinitarian Godhead, there is God the Father, God
the Son, simple family terms that everyone can understand. In 1 John
1:3, John writes that we have fellowship with the Father and the Son.
The word fellowship “koinonia”, means a sharing of common life.
Our identity comes by our relationships. In an old Indian movie, a boy
had to answer the question “What is your father?” He wrote – my father
is a man. The father, watching him, said “Write, my father is a
businessman”. In a way, the son’s first answer was more correct. His
father was a businessman only as long as his business existed.
However, he would always be a man. Sadly, the world has defined human
beings to be understood by utility and not by relationships.
Brother LT recollects when one of his grandchildren prayed “Lord,
forgive me for being naughty today, have a wonderful sleep”. And
another time, a child asked her parent “If Jesus took away my
punishment, why are you still punishing me?” Sometimes children say
the deepest things.
Once, LT was asked “when I get to heaven, will I not be anonymous
among the millions of believers?” However, when Jesus told His
disciples, “I am going there to prepare a place for you”, LT expounds
that the place is not so much a place to stay but rather a special
place of meaning and purpose chosen for us in heaven.
Many young people drive at reckless speeds in search of a meaning of
identity. They do not understand that identity is not from how they
look or what they do but who they are. Our identity comes by
relationships.
There are 4 basic questions in life. Who am I? The question of
identity. Where did I come from? The question of origin. Why am I
here? The question of purpose and Where am I going? The question of
destiny.
The movie “Contact” starring Jodie Foster was dedicated to Carl Sagan
who was famous for his search for extraterrestrial intelligence. He
saw human beings as simply beings composed of molecules. At his
coffin, his wife commented “this is a molecular machine that has
broken down.” In today’s world, the meaning of humanity is becoming
diminished. In contrast to this, the simplicity of the gospel message
is amazingly profound. It is simple enough for a child to understand
yet sophisticated enough to answer the deepest questions of the world.
John clearly sets out our purpose to share a common life with God the
Father and His Son Jesus Christ.
In Revelation 3, in the address to the Church of Philadelphia, there
was the 3-fold identity to be attributed to the victorious. The first
identity is the name of God the Father. Jesus taught His disciples to
pray “Our Father”. In the Chinese culture, the family name is always
first, defining the origin of any Chinese person. In the same way,
having our Father’s name show our place in God’s family.
The second identity is the name of the city of Jerusalem. In
Revelation 21, we see the picture of the new Jerusalem as a bride
adorned beautifully for her husband. Our 2nd identity is that of
belonging to the people of God as one family. We are brothers and
sisters in the same family.
In the world today, there is the issue of drivenness. Even in the
church, the Purpose Driven Life is so popular. In Sri Lanka, a book
was written the Jesus-driven life.
In India, farmers would rent a place to put their sheep for a night
and the next morning, they would call the sheep by name, and each one
would come out one by one. However, while in India, shepherds would
tend to drive sheep on from the back, in Palestine, shepherds tended
to lead the sheep from the front. In Christ, we connect with the
Father and with one another as brothers and sisters. We are different
and bring different perspectives to the unity of the church. In the
end, people from every tribe and tongue and people and nation will
stand before God. God accepts men as they are, from their own
cultures, and there will be a great variety in Heaven.
The third identity is the name of Jesus. He is the bridegroom. We are
the bride. The name “Jesus” is precious because He took it to the
right hand of the Father. In Philippians, it is written that when
Jesus comes down, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord. Jesus is the name and Christ is the title.
When Jesus was on the cross, he spoke 7 times. The first time, He
addressed God as Father – “Father, forgive them for they do not know
what they are doing”. The last time, He prayed “Father, into thy hands
I commit my Spirit.” In between, He once prayed “My God, My God why
have you forsaken me?” In that moment because of the sin of the world
upon Him, the relationship between Father and Son was broken. How
great the Lord’s sacrifice for us!
In the midst of this marvelous relationship is always the presence of
the Holy Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus presented Himself the
offering to God. Through the Holy Spirit, we can call God “Abba
Father”.
In closing, we were reminded that our identity is important to God. We
are not to live in insecurity. Much more important than how we look or
what we do is who we are, and we who are in Christ Jesus are children
of God, dearly loved, so let us never forget that but continue to walk
in sweet family fellowship with God the Father, God the Son and God
the Holy Spirit.
Last Saturday, I was privileged to hear a message from brother LT
Jeyachandran in SIB who spoke about “the search for identity”.
A very basic, fundamental truth is that identity does not come from
what we do but from who we are. When God revealed Himself to His
people, He did not say “I do or I speak”, but “I am”.
Why did God create us to be in families – father, mother, son,
daughter, brother, sister? It was made this way to help us understand
God better. In the Trinitarian Godhead, there is God the Father, God
the Son, simple family terms that everyone can understand. In 1 John
1:3, John writes that we have fellowship with the Father and the Son.
The word fellowship “koinonia”, means a sharing of common life.
Our identity comes by our relationships. In an old Indian movie, a boy
had to answer the question “What is your father?” He wrote – my father
is a man. The father, watching him, said “Write, my father is a
businessman”. In a way, the son’s first answer was more correct. His
father was a businessman only as long as his business existed.
However, he would always be a man. Sadly, the world has defined human
beings to be understood by utility and not by relationships.
Brother LT recollects when one of his grandchildren prayed “Lord,
forgive me for being naughty today, have a wonderful sleep”. And
another time, a child asked her parent “If Jesus took away my
punishment, why are you still punishing me?” Sometimes children say
the deepest things.
Once, LT was asked “when I get to heaven, will I not be anonymous
among the millions of believers?” However, when Jesus told His
disciples, “I am going there to prepare a place for you”, LT expounds
that the place is not so much a place to stay but rather a special
place of meaning and purpose chosen for us in heaven.
Many young people drive at reckless speeds in search of a meaning of
identity. They do not understand that identity is not from how they
look or what they do but who they are. Our identity comes by
relationships.
There are 4 basic questions in life. Who am I? The question of
identity. Where did I come from? The question of origin. Why am I
here? The question of purpose and Where am I going? The question of
destiny.
The movie “Contact” starring Jodie Foster was dedicated to Carl Sagan
who was famous for his search for extraterrestrial intelligence. He
saw human beings as simply beings composed of molecules. At his
coffin, his wife commented “this is a molecular machine that has
broken down.” In today’s world, the meaning of humanity is becoming
diminished. In contrast to this, the simplicity of the gospel message
is amazingly profound. It is simple enough for a child to understand
yet sophisticated enough to answer the deepest questions of the world.
John clearly sets out our purpose to share a common life with God the
Father and His Son Jesus Christ.
In Revelation 3, in the address to the Church of Philadelphia, there
was the 3-fold identity to be attributed to the victorious. The first
identity is the name of God the Father. Jesus taught His disciples to
pray “Our Father”. In the Chinese culture, the family name is always
first, defining the origin of any Chinese person. In the same way,
having our Father’s name show our place in God’s family.
The second identity is the name of the city of Jerusalem. In
Revelation 21, we see the picture of the new Jerusalem as a bride
adorned beautifully for her husband. Our 2nd identity is that of
belonging to the people of God as one family. We are brothers and
sisters in the same family.
In the world today, there is the issue of drivenness. Even in the
church, the Purpose Driven Life is so popular. In Sri Lanka, a book
was written the Jesus-driven life.
In India, farmers would rent a place to put their sheep for a night
and the next morning, they would call the sheep by name, and each one
would come out one by one. However, while in India, shepherds would
tend to drive sheep on from the back, in Palestine, shepherds tended
to lead the sheep from the front. In Christ, we connect with the
Father and with one another as brothers and sisters. We are different
and bring different perspectives to the unity of the church. In the
end, people from every tribe and tongue and people and nation will
stand before God. God accepts men as they are, from their own
cultures, and there will be a great variety in Heaven.
The third identity is the name of Jesus. He is the bridegroom. We are
the bride. The name “Jesus” is precious because He took it to the
right hand of the Father. In Philippians, it is written that when
Jesus comes down, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord. Jesus is the name and Christ is the title.
When Jesus was on the cross, he spoke 7 times. The first time, He
addressed God as Father – “Father, forgive them for they do not know
what they are doing”. The last time, He prayed “Father, into thy hands
I commit my Spirit.” In between, He once prayed “My God, My God why
have you forsaken me?” In that moment because of the sin of the world
upon Him, the relationship between Father and Son was broken. How
great the Lord’s sacrifice for us!
In the midst of this marvelous relationship is always the presence of
the Holy Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus presented Himself the
offering to God. Through the Holy Spirit, we can call God “Abba
Father”.
In closing, we were reminded that our identity is important to God. We
are not to live in insecurity. Much more important than how we look or
what we do is who we are, and we who are in Christ Jesus are children
of God, dearly loved, so let us never forget that but continue to walk
in sweet family fellowship with God the Father, God the Son and God
the Holy Spirit.
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