Who
do you think you are? Who are you?
Did you know the two answers typically are unrelated
if not different in every way?
My friend Neil T. Anderson has something to say
about that. Take a look:
Many Christians are not living free and productive
lives because they don't
understand who they are and why they are here. Who
they are is rooted
in their identity and position in Christ. If they
don't see themselves the way
God sees them, to that degree they suffer from false
identity and poor
sense of worth. They don't fully understand the
gospel and the dramatic
change that occurred in them the moment they trusted
Christ1.
This is an excerpt taken from Victory Over the Darkness by, as stated previously, Neil T.
Anderson. I’m only to chapter two, but the book has been so good thus far I’ve
declared it worthy of a blog post. I strongly suggest you read it. On my
personal list, it’s right up there with Mere
Christianity by C.S. Lewis—a.k.a. the top.
Let’s think about those two questions again.
Who do you think you are?
Let’s be real, who you think you are has a dramatic
impact on the life you live. I’ll start out. If asked at random who I think I
am, while at first I would be caught off guard (because let’s face it, it can
be difficult to give an honest evaluation of yourself), I would eventually
start formulating some sort of list in my mind. It would probably look
something like this:
·
I’m Ryleigh
Puckett.
·
I’m 5’ 7”.
·
I’m a freshman
in college.
·
I’m a straight A
(and one B) student.
·
I live in Texas
with my five family members and six dogs.
·
I paint.
·
I go to church.
·
etc… etc..
Got a picture of who I am? No? Me either. The truth
is that these “facts” about me are just that: facts. They aren’t who I am. They
are what I think I am. If someone took all of this away from me, I would still
be me—even if I don’t know what exactly that means. Anderson, however, points something
vital out.
We tend to identify ourselves and each other
primarily by what we look like (tall, short, stocky, slender) or what we do
(plumber, carpenter, nurse, engineer, clerk). Furthermore, when we as
Christians are asked to identify ourselves in relation to our faith, we usually
talk about our doctrinal position (Protestant, evangelical, Calvinist,
charismatic), our denominational preference (Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist,
Independent) or our role in the church (Sunday School teacher, choir member,
deacon, usher). Is who you are determined by what you do, or is what you do determined
by who you are? That is an important question, especially as it relates to
Christian maturity1.
Frankly, many Christians struggle with who they are,
I being one of them. By reading Victory
Over the Darkness, though, I’m beginning to understand why. Keep in mind
that I am only on chapter two currently, but I plan to write new posts with
each additional chapter for a total of twelve posts. I can’t do the impactful
and perspective-changing qualities of each chapter in a summary post justice,
so once again I highly recommend grabbing a copy for yourself.
Why do we have a misconception or
disconnect when it comes to who we are?
This question is one that definitely needs an
answer. To find a solution, you must understand the root of the problem. Come
on, somebody reminisce with me about that awful rumor weed on VeggieTales2!
Neil T. Anderson notes that Christians are both physically
alive and spiritually alive1. At least, we are now because we are
Christians. Before that though, as Ephesians 2:1 reminds us, we were once very
dead in our sins3. Once we commit our lives to Christ, however, this
changes. But like I said, before-hand, we were dead. This is what we inherited from
Adam: death—and unless one is reborn, they will remain dead. Here is the
interesting part: it would seem that Christians, even after they are born
again, continue to go on living as though they are still dead; as though they
are still children of the world and Adam instead of Christ. To clarify, once
you have been adopted as a Child of God, there is nothing that you can do—no sin
so great—that can alter that new identity and reality. Just as a parent will
never stop loving their child, God never will stop loving us. But are we thinking and living like He loves us?
I really appreciated the analogy my dad gave about
this. He asked my sisters and me how we think President Obama’s daughters view themselves.
We answered that they most likely viewed themselves as pretty important or
special—at least good in some ways because of their position. Then he proceeded
to ask how we think the child of a lazy drunkard would feel about themselves?
We all agreed: not very well. Fittingly, from the world’s standards, the
daughters of President Obama are pretty high up there. But guess what? You and
I are their heirs and inheritors of Christ!—i.e. the Creator of the entire
universe including space, time, universals, and everything in between. Does
that make us special? Dang straight. Not in the prideful sense, but in the
valuable, worthy of all the love of the Father because of his Son sense of
special.
To come to a close for this part, I’ll list the
truth about who we are as Christians as written in Victory over the Darkness.
Who Am I?
I am the salt of the earth (Matt. 5:13).
I am the light of the world (Matt. 5:14).
I am a child of God (John 1:12).
I am part of the true vine, a channel of Christ’s
life (John 15:1, 5).
I am Christ’s friend (John 15:15).
I am chosen and appointed by Christ to bear His
fruit (John 15:16).
I am a slave of righteousness (Rom. 6:18).
I am a son of God; God is spiritually my Father (Rom.
8:14, 15; Gal. 3:26; 4:6).
I am a joint heir with Christ, sharing His inheritance
with Him (Rom. 8:17).
I am a temple—a dwelling place—of God. His spirit
and His life dwell in me (1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19).
I am united to the Lord and am one spirit with Him
(1 Cor. 6:17).
I am a member of Christ’s Body (1 Cor. 12:27; Eph.
5:30).
I am a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17).
I am reconciled to God and am a minister of
reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18-19).
I am a son of God and one in Christ (Gal. 3:26, 28).
I am an heir of God since I am a son of God (Gal.
4:6-7).
I am a saint (1 Cor. 1:2; Eph. 1:1; Phil. 1:1; Col.
1:2).
I am God’s workmanship—His handiwork—born anew in
Christ to do His work (Eph. 2:10).
I am a fellow citizen with the rest of God’s family
(Eph. 2:19).
I am a prisoner of Christ (Eph. 3:1; 4:1).
I am righteous and holy (Eph. 4:24).
I am a citizen of heaven, seated in heaven right now
(Eph. 2:6; Phil. 3:20).
I am hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3).
I am an expression of the life of Christ because He
is my life (Col. 3:4).
I am chosen of God, holy and dearly loved (Col. 3:12;
1 Thess. 1:4).
I am a son of light and not darkness (1 Thess. 5:5).
I am a holy partaker of a heavenly calling (Heb.
3:1).
I am a partaker of Christ; I share in His life (Heb.
3:14).
I am one of God’s living stones, being built up in
Christ as a spiritual house (1 Pet. 2:5).
I am a member of a chosen race, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession (1 Pet. 2:9-10).
I am an alien and stranger to this world in which I
temporarily live (1 Pet. 2:11).
I am an enemy of the devil (1 Pet. 5:8).
I am a child of God and I will resemble Christ when
He returns (1 John 3:1-2).
I am born of God, and the evil one—the devil—cannot touch
me (1 John 5:18).
I am not
the great “I am” (Exod. 3:14; John 8:24, 28, 58), but by the grace of God, I am what I am (1 Cor. 15:10).
I’ll take a moment to specify that Victory Through the Darkness is very
clear to uphold that Christians still sin. Anderson goes on to say, “As
believers, we are not trying to become saints; we are saints who are becoming
like Christ. In no way does this deny the continuous struggle with sin, but it
does give the believer some hope for the future”1. You will need to
read chapter two to understand the full extent of this topic.
The point is that we are Children of God! Our
identity now lies in Christ. It is who
we are. If it became what we believe
we are, then we can truly live it out1!
Blessings,
Miss Ryleigh
1. Anderson, Neil T. Victory Over the Darkness. Ventura: Regal Books, 2013. Print.
2. Larry-Boy
and the Rumor Weed. Dir. Phil Vischer. Perf. Mike Nawrocki, Phil Vischer,
and G.
Bock. Big Idea, 1999. Film.
3.
The Holy Bible. Wheaton: Crossway,
2007. Print.