Who Am I?

I think that one of the greatest questions that is being asked in our time, by every generation, is what you read in the title of this post.  And I think it's a question that is so deeply ingrained in every one of us that when the answer doesn't seem to come, we press and press, and begin to feel that desperation that arises when you know something important needs to be addressed but there seems to be no way to 'fix it'. We begin to scream like little children that just don't know any better way.

It's all around us.  We see it in the political realm that seems to be more defined in the public's mind by shouting matches and deception rather than sharing common ground in the very real challenges that face our world.  We see it in families where the fallout of disagreement and disillusionment leads to the only option that seems viable, which is to leave.  And we see it in the Family of God that is meant to portray the kind of love that is supposed to bind people together; to show the world that there is another way that doesn't lead to leaving.  And yet it still happens. . .

I don't think most people realize that the burning question that smolders at the base of these feelings and actions, is one of identity.  People don't know who they are, and yet they know they should.  So it becomes a question that breaks us: it breaks us because it's knit into our DNA.  We can't escape it, and yet we struggle so mightily to find the answer that eludes us.

Until. . .

Until we find ourselves being found.  I know it sounds strange, but it's true.  Until we are found by someone who has the ability to speak to who we really are, through all our turmoil, inside us and around us, we will continue to scream into the wind that same question.

Being 'found' means that we are no longer wandering aimlessly, without purpose or direction.  Being found brings a sense of stability and peace.  It brings order out of chaos.  It sets the world right.  And that's exactly what needs to happen within the heart and soul of every human being.  It's what we long for: to be set right; to be found; to be known.

Jesus was sent to this ball of dirt in order to set us right.  He came to meet our greatest need.  He came to help us to know who we are and to tell us that we are known by Him.

I still struggle to really know who I am.  I still wrestle with feelings that confuse and frustrate me.  But I am growing in my understanding and acceptance that I am truly known by Jesus and that makes all the difference in the world to me.  He continually speaks to me about who I am and it slowly changes me from the inside out.  He says to me through words found in His Book that 'I am rooted and established in love.' He says to me that His love for me is too wide, high, long and deep for me to even comprehend.  And He tells me this to convince me that it's real.  I am known by Him.  I am loved by Him.  

I am no different than everyone else.  I have an intense longing to know who I really am.  And I can still struggle to see and feel that clearly.  But there is a rising sun in my heart that shines this truth with growing intensity that says this to me through the fog: Jesus knows me and He loves me. 

And that's enough.  

Be blessed friends,

B