Self-concept
Who are you? When I stop to answer that question, I think I focus on the externals, too… The first things that come to mind aren’t my appearance, it’s my roles – wife, mommy, daughter, friend, Sunday school teacher, etc., that hold meaning as to who I am.
When we did Emotionally Healthy Spirituality at WellSpring two years ago, it was such a revelation to me that I actually felt, deep down, that serving God wins me His approval. It was so uncomfortable to imagine that His love and acceptance was because of who I am, not what I do… Two years later, I’m still working my way through that.
I love the idea that what we do is determined by who we are. It’s kind of cliché, but the Queen of England behaves the way she does because of who she is. She’s got tremendous resources at her disposal, and the admiration of a country behind her, but she does what she does because she has an understanding of being a royal.
If we could picture ourselves as children of royalty (the well-behaving ones), how would that change us? Have we been living as paupers when we had been given the whole kingdom?
Ephesians 3:14-15 says, When I think of the wisdom and scope of God’s plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will give you mighty inner strength through His Holy Spirit.
I am an electrical engineer and you say but that is what you do, but I say that I chose this career because of how God wired me and my talents and gifts. It is not all of who I am, but my career choice is definitely an expression of who I am. Teaching the 301 class (Uniquely You) which helps us discover our personality type and spiritual gifts with understanding that just knowing those things about yourself is not enough, but we need to find areas to serve and work that utilize our unique personalities and gifts so that we can be fulfilled.
ReplyDeleteToday's reading reminds me so much of the Casting Crowns song “Who Am I” that I am just posting the lines that capture the feel of this perfectly.
ReplyDeleteWho am I, that the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name
Would care to feel my hurt?
Who am I, that the bright and morning star
Would choose to light the way
For my ever wondering heart?
Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are
This really resonated with me. Since college, I have strived to relate to life not through the lens of a specific role I have, but by whose I am. I use to tell people in college that I wanted to live my life in such a way that when folks asked me what I did, I would not answer them by listing my occupation. This has really come under the microscope for me the last four years as I've struggled with a job assignment I haven't liked. I have had to really check my heart and see if I had begun to define who I am too much from what I do.
ReplyDeleteWho am I? I am a son of God. Because I am His son, I am a husband, a Papa, a friend, a brother, a defender of the defenseless. I truly believe that if I were not His, I would not be the other things. Surely I would not be very good at them at the least.
I have a diffcult time remembering that I am, first and foremost, a child of God. When I think about who I am, my first thought, like Michele, is of my many roles, i.e. mom, teacher, small group leader, etc. God is continually challenging me to remember that I'm good enough because I am His child, not because of the many hats I wear or the things I've accomplished, or not accomplished for that matter. Lord Jesus, help me to find joy in who I am in You, not in my circumstances or in others. You are all I need.
ReplyDelete"I believe wholeheartedly that your hope for growth, meaning and fulfillment as a Christian is based on understanding who you are--specifically your identity in Christ as a child of God."
ReplyDeleteI need to continue to understand several things about being a child of God: A) God will take care of me--trust in Him just like Brandon trusts in me to take care of him; B) Jesus gave a great example of the type of relationship we are to have with God when he said Abba, Father. Being a child of God means we can have an intimate, close relationship with our Daddy God, which is really cool! C) God instructs and corrects me just like I instruct and correct Brandon--because He loves me and wants me to grow and mature just like I want Brandon to do the same.