Thought for Today
Genesis 4:1 Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, "I have produced a man with the help of the Lord."
Exodus 2:10 When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and she took him as her son. She named him Moses, "because," she said, "I drew him out of the water."
Matthew 1:23 "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us."
Luke 1:31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.
Recently, I heard someone asked, “Just who do you think you are?” It is a familiar question, usually asked when someone seems to be speaking or acting with an inflated opinion of their own worth, importance or position. But, this morning, I’m asking myself, “Just who do you think you are?”
I have pondered on this previously, in May of this year and as recently as September. I often think of this question in terms of the term locus of identity. How do we identify and understand the locus of our identity? Do we/I have an internal or external locus of identity? “When you have an external locus of identity (or at least primarily lean in that direction on a spectrum), you tend to rely heavily on validation from others and on your ability to meet the standards set by your culture/career/family/religion/etc.” (heatherplett.com)
I would state it a bit differently. I believe it is a question of how you identify who you are. “Just who do you think you are?” Are you, the basic ‘you’, that point in the center of your forehead, about 1” above your eyes and just below the surface of your skin, are you defined by others or by yourself?
Who am I? Am I defined by my name? Am I uniquely identified by the name or names on my birth certificate? If so, by my first name? By my middle name? By my last name? Or, by the 3 together. What defines me as the individual, the unique identity resident in that inner spot? Before you answer too quickly, you might want to consider just how many others share those names, separately or all together. Long ago enough for there to still be printed telephone books distributed by the single telephone company in Houston, I looked up my name. Even in combination, there were multiple Raymond H. Hendersons.
Most readers will know that I am a native Texan, a native Houstonian and an engineer. That telephone book didn’t tell me whether or not any of those other Raymond H. Hendersons were native Texans, native Houstonians and engineers. But the question of my unique identity, the answer to “Just who do you think you are?” must go far beyond names, origins and occupations.
There are multiple nouns and adjectives that can be applied to describe me. I am a son, a husband, a father and a grandfather. I am a neighbor, a minister, a Christian. The same was true for Cain, for Moses and for Jesus. Shakespeare has Juliet say “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet” (Romeo and Juliet, Act 2 Scene 2)
I do not think any of us are solely defined by names, by titles, by occupations. I do not think we are solely defined by our places of origin, our tribes or clans. Those things are all factors and influences on who and what we are. But they are not the definitive determinants. They provide context in our answering “Just who do you think you are?”
For me, much of the answer about my identity comes from my faith. Jesus said, “Mark 10:15 Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it." In one of his Epistles, John wrote, “1 John 5:1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child.”
I believe. I have faith. My faith, my "Hebrews 11:1 . . . assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” is my answer to the question of who I think I am. I am a child of God; I believe Jesus is the Son of God. That is my truth. That is who I am and whose I am. “Just who do you think you are?”
Stay safe, think about who you are, trust God,
Pastor Ray