If I follow certain narratives of history, I could get the impression that it was easier back in the day.
Who is he? He catches fish. Oh so he’s a fisherman. Yeah. And that’s how it will be for the rest of his life. He’ll be rough and coarse and used to the struggle because of how things are. That’s who he is. That’s who they are – that’s what they do.
Who is he? He plays a lyre. Oh so he’s a musician. Yeah. And that’s how it will be for the rest of his life. He’ll be soft and sensitive and capable of conveying a variety of emotions on his lute because of how things are. That’s who he is. That’s who they are – that’s what they do.
As I said – that’s a conclusion I could reach if I followed some narratives of history. The picture presented is a more straightforward way of life. Sure there might the occasional variance, but the norm is established. We know who you are by what you do and what you do determines who you are.
It is very different for me today, though. First of all, I have never done the same thing for all of my working life to this point. That must make my identity kind of confused according to that way of thinking. To be fair, though, what that has done is seriously and practically made me think through the question: who on earth am I?
So far in that journey there are some reassuring resting points that I’ve reached. One is that I am not defined by what I do. It doesn’t confine me or define me, especially as I remember who I am first and foremost. What I do is certainly an expression of aspects of who I am especially at my peak of functioning. There is more to me, though, than my skills, abilities and gifts.
That brings me to the issue of discovering who I am. This bit is where the fun begins because I can look at family history, ethnicity, nationality, culture and upbringing and they can give hints, but hints are not the end that I’m looking for.
It’s quite something to be defined by a relationship with someone who knows me better than me because He created me. It’s quite something to have my identity found in the one who redeemed me because He offers me new life – this life. It’s quite something to know who I am because I am filled by the Spirit who shapes, informs, nurtures and guides me into the liberating truth.
Referring to this truth does wonders for me both in who I and then in what I do. It’s not a static thing – the very living nature of this truth makes the process very dynamic. It means I can look back on episodes of my life and see what I did and note differences between now and then seeing the journey of getting to know who I am as I get to know who He is. It’s pivotal even to this point as I expect it to be the case as long as I live.
It’s a great help that I can certainly commend to you.
(Photo by Smit Patel on Unsplash)
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
Life With CD 