Who am I? What is my identity? How do I see myself? How does God see me? These are questions that require thoughtful study. The answers to these questions will impact all the areas of your life, including your work, career, marriage, family, present, and future, how you relate to others, how you respond to life’s situations, and ultimately where you spend eternity.
Too often, people base their identities on what they do (from their jobs to their roles in relationships), defining themselves by those pursuits. Identifying with a Job or Title. This is a common mistake, but understandably so. For centuries people have been defined by their jobs. But by doing so, they significantly limit their lives. Unfortunately, most of us spend a great majority of our time and energy trying to be like someone else. To be honest, sometimes we wish we were someone else. We dress like other people, act like other people, and spend time and energy trying to be a replica of someone else. And yet God made us uniquely, and nobody else on the entire planet has the same DNA. So, Seeing Yourself as God Sees You Matters.
How to discover your true self. There are many books written on the topic of self-esteem and self-identity. Only one book, however, remains the same over time and is true for all situations and all people. This book is the Bible. Through it, God gives us His perspective on who we are and our relationship with Him. It lays a true foundation for self-identity. Are you relying on something or someone else to define who you are? or are you trying to rediscover your true identity? I will try to answer this question based on what God says in His Word, the Bible.
In the book of Psalms, David writes in chapter 139 verses 13 and 14: “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. “I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvellous are Your works, and I know this very well. (Psalm 139:13-14)
The meaning behind this famous verse is incredibly simplistic and also oceans deep. Fearfully and wonderfully made in this context does not mean being literally scared or afraid. It means quite the opposite - that you were created with great reverence, heart-felt interest, and respect to be unique and set apart! Each one of us is individually handcrafted and there is something fearful about how we've been made. The expression imports the dignity and sanctity of man compared to other creatures in this lower world. Because all humanity is fearfully and wonderfully made by the Lord, He owns all humanity as well as the rest of the world He created, governs, and sustains. Since all humanity is fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God, all humanity should be treated with dignity and respect. We are fearfully made, as our frame demonstrates God's power, wisdom, and presence. Such a wonderful composition as a man could not be the effect of chance. It must be the work of an infinite, independent, all-wise Creator.
The human body is not merely a human body. It is an extraordinary work of art by the God of all creation. The human body is a unique design of multiple systems that all work intricately together. The cardiovascular system gives you the energy to move. The muscular system gives you the ability to move, lift, and hold things. The digestive system processes food into energy and discards waste. The immune system keeps you healthy. The hormonal system determines your gender. The eyes cause you to see. The nose lets you smell. The tongue and mouth let you eat and taste. The ears enable you to hear. And your skin enables you to feel textures. You have the ability to encounter an incredibly diverse world with an equally amazing diverse body! Then you were also blessed with a brain so you can think, process, and create. Your mind, will, and emotions help you to relate to other people and feel compassion. All of these systems (plus many more) were uniquely designed to make you who you are.
You have the innate ability to discern right from wrong. Although, that ability is hindered somewhat until you connect with your Creator. He didn’t just design you to do your own thing. He created you so you would desire an ongoing relationship with Him. You were made with a vacuum in the center of your soul that only one thing fits. Until you find that very specific something, you will never be fulfilled. And that very specific something is God Himself. You were designed with an intense need of your Creator, God. Without a relationship with Him, you will always be searching for something to fill that void.
I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I matter. God has a plan for me. I have the right personality. I have the right gifts. I don’t need to be like anyone else. You were created just as the Creator intended because He has a purpose for you. The Creator has impressed upon us evident marks of our immortality and accountableness. He wants to do something great in you and then something significant through you. Fortunately, God made a way for us to repent and turn to Him by sending His very own Son to make the way. “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2:10)
When you finally realize that without God you cannot make the most of yourself, things begin to change. The clay cannot mold itself no matter how hard it tries. However, God, the Potter, can not only mold His clay but He also knows what His original design of you was. He is both a Potter and an Architect with a Master Plan.
How can you begin to come to grips with the real you? Start by learning what your Creator has to say about the real you. The problem for so many of us is that we don’t know who we are. We have become a kingdom of ignorant kings: ignorant of our identity ability, power, and authority. Long ago we forgot, (if we ever knew), all that the enemy stole from us. Deposed, defeated, and dejected, like the prodigal son we sit in the mud and stench of the pigsty, nibbling on dry corn husks, never lifting the eyes of our spirit to behold the riches of our Father’s estate that is ours if we will only reach out and claim them.
Our greatest enemy today is ignorance. What we don’t know is destroying us; or at least depriving us of a full and abundant life. The antidote for ignorance is knowledge, so God sent us His Word—His living Word in the person of His Son. Christ came to remove our ignorance about God and His Kingdom and to teach us of our heritage and relationship as children of the Father.
As long as we live in ignorance and darkness, we will never know that we are prisoners in our own territory, slaves of an illegal oppressor. We will never know we are the rightful rulers of this planet. Because we don’t know any better, because we don’t realize the privilege and power we have, we allow ignorance to run our lives, ravaging our bodies with sickness, draining our finances, destroying our marriages, messing up with drugs and alcohol, and generally wreaking havoc.
False beliefs are limiting beliefs that are not true. False beliefs are like the lens that you see the world through. And if this lens is dirty and full of scratches, then it will distort and limit your vision of what’s possible in our life. They’re usually created from past experiences that led you to believe that you can’t do certain things. This will cause you to limit yourself and your actions because you’ll be too busy trying to avoid what you think might happen if you don’t. And because of this, it will be harder for you to reach your goals, achieve the life that you want, and discover your true identity. The simple truth is, when you know who you are, then it will be easier for you to express yourself around others. In order to discover your true self, you need to be true to God and yourself. Love God and yourself first and everything else falls into place.
In John's gospel Chapter 8: verse12 Jesus applies the title to himself while debating with the Jews and states: I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. “When Jesus spoke, ‘I am the Light of the World.’” The allegory used by the Lord in this verse speaks of the light of His Truth, the light of His Word, the light of eternal Life. Those who perceive the true Light will never walk in spiritual darkness. We take a candle into a room to dispel the darkness. Likewise, the Light of Jesus Christ has to be taken into the darkness of sin that engulfs the hearts and lives of those who are not following Him. If we do not follow Him, we will not have this light, this truth, this eternal life.
Following Jesus is the condition of two promises in John 8:12. First, His followers will never walk in darkness, which is a reference to the eternal life we enjoy. As true followers of the Light, we will never follow the ways of sin, (1 John 1:5–7). Rather, we repent of our sins in order to stay close to the Light of the world. The second promise is that we will reflect the Light of Life. Just as He came as the Light of the world, He commands us to be “lights,” too. In Matthew 5:14–16, we see believers depicted as the light of the world. Just as the moon has no light of its own, reflecting the light of the sun, so are believers to reflect the Light of Christ so that all can see it in us. Jesus is the source of light; we only shine as we reflect His image. The Light is evident to others by the good deeds we do in faith and through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus is the light of the world. Light means knowledge. He came to show us who we really are and to expose the enemy’s false kingdom. To put it another way, Jesus came to introduce us to ourselves and to call us to become the people God always knew we could be. He came to call us home. Every human being was created to be Christ’s image bearer and to live a fulfilled life without rivals for an amazing and unique purpose.
Where Do You Find Your Identity?
While our world encourages you to look within yourself for your identity, your natural tendency is to search for your identity in external things. One of the first places that you can be tempted to look to is your career. Spending your time and energy pursuing your career can cause you to feel like it is a defining characteristic of who you are. After all, a job that you are dedicated to is likely to take up most of your time and attention. Jobs and careers are closely connected to other places where you can search for your identities, such as financial success and status. But it doesn’t stop there. We also ask about our relationship statuses, appearance, grades, and reputation to provide a sense of identity.
Any or all of these may feel like solid foundations, but none of them are permanent. Any of them could change without warning. If you base your identity on things like success, wealth, power, physical appearance, and so on, you are setting yourself up for great disappointment. A sudden job loss could leave you questioning your choices in life. One piece of gossip aimed your way could destroy your reputation, even if it is untrue. Your appearance will change as you get older.
God, however, is unchanging. He is reliable. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. If you find your identity in Him, you will never ultimately be let down because He has proven time and time again to be trustworthy. It is important, as you define your identity, that God not be just an aspect of who you are, like “I am religious”. Understanding your identity in God starts with understanding who He is, what He says about Himself, and what He says about you. Your identity can be defined by who God is making you be in His image.
Every parent has a dream for his or her child, and God is no different. You are His child, and He has a dream for you. God’s dream for you is, ultimately, to make you like His Son. …until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:13) To that end, he uses every circumstance—every up, every down, every relationship—in our lives to conform us to His likeness. “For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” (Romans 8:29)
At the heart of what it means to be a new identity. In Christ, we do not lose our true selves, but we become our true selves, only in Him. We cannot experience anything greater than the fullness of union with Christ. Nothing reaches higher or is more theologically comprehensive. When we develop healthy relationships with ourselves, God, the world, and others, we can begin to experience the maturity that makes us more like Jesus. Your identity in Christ is not based on education, economic worth, or social status, but on your relationship with Him. Those who know their God intimately are marked out for exploits. Daniel says, “But the people who know their God shall be strong and carry out great exploits” (Dan.11: 32).
