Who are you?

 

What is your identity?

During a conversation with my dad, he remarked that a lot of people ask "what do you do for a living" instead of asking about a person's identity. What a person often means when they ask about my school or my hobbies is who are you? 

The reason people say that is likely because they don't know what qualifies as an identity. Is your name your identity? What about your gender? None of those feel right; they're only an aspect of who you are. Your occupation is where you likely spend the most time, so it becomes the default question.

However, there's a problem with finding oneself in a career. Your identity is like your definition. If you define yourself by your job, you will find yourself unfulfilled, because a mere job--although healthy--cannot fulfil you.

Another identity might be found in family. Last names are passed down, and a woman will generally take the last name of her husband. This reflects the truth that a person's family is a huge part of who they are. I know that my family has shaped my personality. My likes and dislikes are surprisingly similar to those of my parents and siblings. And, after all, a married couple become one: they can be found in one another.

But a person's family isn't everything. After all, people grow apart. People move away. People are orphaned and widowed. Some children have never known their parents.

The only identity that really holds water is an identity in God. He is eternal and perfect, and His love never fails. 

When I attended a Steubenville Youth Conference (they're incredible!), I remember one speaker saying that, in Ancient Rome, a child could be thrown away. Infants were abandoned on the streets because their parents didn't want them. That was considered lawful. But if somebody adopted a child, they could never abandon that child. Why? The logic is as follows: biological parents didn't ask for a rebellious or ugly kid, but parents who adopted knew exactly what they were getting into.

Most early Christians lived in Rome, so they were familiar with Roman culture. That is why so much emphasis was put on being the adopted sons and daughters of God. It means that God knows exactly what He is getting into--and He could never abandon His children.

When a person becomes a Christian, God adopts them and makes them His own. The old is shed away, and a new life begins: a life with a new identity as a child of God and a brother or sister to Christ. 

An identity like this is rooted in something unchanging and beautiful. It can never be shaken. It is like a house which is built on solid ground.

I'm a daughter of the Lord God!

Who are you?