What is my purpose? What am I doing here? Am I living up to my potential?
These are all questions that we would ask at some point in our lives. All of us seek to form an identity for ourselves, something we know ourselves by. The above questions are commonly known as identity questions and secularist answers can be classified into 3 broad groups. Some people define themselves by what they do, others by what they have and yet some by what others say about them.
People who identify themselves by what they do would like to associate themselves to their job, their ability or their grades. One may introduce himself as Mr James, the accountant. He may also pride himself in being a musician or even a straight ‘A’s smarty pants. As a result, his identity is tied to what he prides himself in doing; the more lucrative the industry is, the more successful he deems himself to be.
People who define themselves by what they have would identify themselves as one with a copious amount of wealth or possess certain assets. One such person may vaunt about his latest Nokia 5300, his brand new luxury Jaguar or his freehold condominium near town. Such a person’s identity is dependant on what he owns and the more he has, the more successful he perceives himself to be.
People who define themselves by what people say about them would describe themselves as popular and seeks for approval and favour from others. One such person would relish being the president of the Students’ Council and may label himself as one who gets all the attention, affection and envy of others. Consequently, his behaviour may change with different groups of friends in order to gain their favour, finds that what people say about him may change and find it extremely difficult to maintain the pseudo images that he portrays.
However, something tells us that we are meant for more. There must be something more than just what we see. How can life merely be about our blood-sucking job, our evanescent possessions or our fleeting popularity?
Thankfully, for us, the bible tells us that what we see is NOT all we get; it tells us that we can be children of God. As children of God, we enjoy 3 basic privileges: God’s grace, blessings from God and God’s favour.
As a child of God, we are recipients of God’s grace. All man has sinned; Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” As a result, we are separated from God. No amount of effort on our part can reunite us with God because of our sin: not good works, our career, our wealth or popularity. To reconcile man to God, Jesus came to be the atonement for our sins. 1 Peter 3:18 tells us, “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” Because of His love for us, Jesus died to pay for the penalty of our sins, that we may be forgiven – this is God’s grace to man.
As a child of God, we enjoy His blessings. Ephesians 1:3 says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” As the child of God, we enjoy every blessing from God.
Finally, as a child of God, He is pleased with us. Zephaniah 3:17 tells us, “The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” As a child of God, we have favour and protection from God!
We may sometimes identify ourselves by what we do, what we have or what people think of us. We may occasionally get lost in the chase for paper qualifications, material possessions or popularity, all of which are transient and temporal. What you see is NOT all you get. Do you want to be a child of God? There is no need to prove yourself by what you do, what you own or by what others say about you. As a child of God, we enjoy the grace and forgiveness from God, the blessings from God and the favour of God. Who are you?
Verse 1: Who 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 wandering heart
Pre-chorus: 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
Chorus: I am a flower quickly fading Here today and gone tomorrow A wave tossed in the ocean A vapour in the wind Still You hear me when I'm calling Lord You catch me when I'm falling And you told me who I am I am Yours
Verse 2: Who am I That the eyes that see my sin Would look on me with love And watch me rise again Who am I That the voice that calms the sea Would call out through the rain And calm the storm in me
Acknowledgements: Content has been taken from Pastor Steven's sermon this morning as well as the booklet: What you see is NOT all you get. The song in the video is: "Who am I" by Casting Crowns. If you would like to know more, visit www.meant4more.com
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