How what Jesus says about Himself says something about you

Following Jesus is rarely glamorous or filled with glory. (Well, not until we get to heaven – there’ll be no shortage of glory there!) Jesus came to serve and told us to do the same, and that often entails doing things in hidden places or choosing to serve in ways that do not bring earthly status and prestige.

We can understand that earthly indicators of success such as fame, wealth, influence and likes on social media, are not only transient but are also worldly values, and so are not the things that really count or have eternal value. But as we live in a culture that esteems these things, it is not surprising if sometimes we find ourselves questioning our accomplishments and even our identity. After all accomplishments and identity are so inter-connected in the eyes of the world. 

And I have found myself in this situation recently. I have little worldly success of which to brag. I have no career path upon which I am advancing with style. I have chosen different paths believing them to be God’s leading – which has involved serving in numerous ways and a hotchpotch of jobs. My life has been the richer for it – but status and prestige are not things which have found their way to me!!

I am aware that the enemy likes to undermine our sense of identity – he knows that understanding our God-given identity is key to living secure and free in the fullness of who we are and what God has for us to do. Indeed, if Satan was so set upon undermining Jesus’ sense of identity when He was in the wilderness, asking the famous “If you are the son of God…” questions, identity is probably pretty important for us too.

And so, mindful that I was becoming a bit unstuck, I turned to God to ask Him about my identity in Him: who did He say I was. I wanted to remember what He says about me.

However, His answer caught me off guard. He flipped the question and instead I was prompted to remember the occasion when Jesus asked His disciples who they thought He was.

Who did I say He was? I realised He was turning my focus from me to Him. To be honest, I was a little taken aback. I know He loves me and having been taught that he is the source of all we need, I rather expected a different kind of answer – more about me!!

But it is a great question – Jesus asked great questions! They always had a purpose – designed to reveal or teach something as the person thought on the answer. Pondering an answer pushes us to engage with it, prompting an ‘owning’ of the truth it reveals. Therefore, recognising that who Jesus is lies at the heart of what we believe as Christians – and therefore forms the basis for many of my life choices, I decided I would do well to think about my own answer to it.

I found that as I did that – as I stopped and directed my thoughts to engage with who I really think that Jesus is, I had another surprise. I had a fresh revelation that who He is is actually incredibly connected to who I am. All the answers that came to mind as to who I thought Jesus was had direct bearing on little old me, and as I reflected on what I knew from the Bible about them, I saw that even more clearly.

Let me elaborate on some of the things I saw:

He is the Lord God and Saviour. He is my Lord God and my Saviour. In choosing Him, I am choosing life, light, love and victory. I am on the winning side. I am secure.

Wonderful Counsellor. I am someone who has a wonderful counsellor – intimately involved in my life, engaged with it, invested in me, full of wisdom, help and loving concern for me.

As I pondered these things I became a bit concerned – I realised it all runs the risk of sounding horribly self-centred, that I should be thinking about Him, not me! But the astonishing truth is that our God, the Creator, has chosen to reveal Himself in ways that tie Himself to us, ways that affirm us and who we are. Our Father. Servant King – who did He serve? Us. Prince of Peace – whose peace? Our peace.

Doesn’t this reveal the generously giving and loving heart of our God?! His purpose in creating us could have been to have slaves, minions to do His bidding, lording over us and focussed only on Himself and His glory, what He could get out of it. But no, instead He created us to be in relationship with Him. He created us to love. God is love and we are the beloved.

Suddenly it mattered less that my worldly accomplishments were minimal or that I didn’t have thousands of likes on Facebook. I saw my identity afresh in Him. The beloved of God. Daughter of the King. Secure. A watched over and delighted-in sheep!

So, in answering the question which I found myself slightly surprised to be asked: “Who do you say I am?”, I saw that the answer, who He is, is not only the heart of what we believe as Christians. It not only underpins the the good news of the saving power of Christ, but it is also intrinsically tied into who we are. It is also about our identity.

Turning our eyes to Him not only rightly elevates Him in our sights but also assures us of our firm identity and worth in Him. What an awesome God have we!

There were many more aspects of who God is and how it involves us that I could have mentioned, but why not answer the question for yourself – Who is Jesus to you? Taking time to ponder on it will let the truth bring freedom and life, security and identity. Maybe it is what you need to hear today.

Who is Jesus to you?