I heard a good word this morning. It first came in a message shared by a pastor-friend who posed the question “Who am I?” at the beginning of her sermon
She began by telling her own story about how, as a young person, others told her who she was in how they treated her and what they said to her and about her. The culture in which she grew up also told her, in messages subtle and not so subtle, who she was and who she was not.
As a child and teenager, she believed what she was told. “This is who you are. Nothing more and nothing else.”
Then, she came to realize it was all a lie. That happened when she met Jesus, the One who tells us the Truth of who we are. “In Christ, this is who you are,” God says.
You are God’s masterpiece~ 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 (Eph. 2:10 ~ NLT).
You are God’s child.~ But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12 NLT).
You are God’s friend. ~ So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God (Rom. 5:11 NLT).
You are a saint. ~ So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God ... (Eph. 2:19 NRSV).
You are a member of God’s household.~ So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God ... (Eph. 2:19 NRSV).
You are born of God. ~ But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. ... Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child. (John 1:12-13; 1 John 5:1NRSV).
You are chosen by God. ~ For we know, brothers and sistersbeloved by God, that he has chosen you ...for you are a chosen people. (1 Thess. 1:14, 1 Peter 2:9 NRSV).
You are forgiven.~ I am writing to you who are God’s children because your sins have been forgiven through Jesus (1 John 2:12 NLT).
You are free.~ [Jesus said] You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings.And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free ... if the Son sets you free, you are truly free (John 8:31-32, 36 NLT).
You are made complete.~ May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. ... So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority (Eph. 3:19; Col. 2:10 NLT)
You are loved.~ For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.... I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love (John 3:16; 15:9 NLT). Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes (Eph. 1:4 NLT).
You are loved unconditionally. In fact, it’s God’s unconditional love that enables us to discover who really are, to hear our heavenly Father call our names and call us His very own – His son, His daughter, His special child.
I was blessed in that reminder of who I am—a beloved child of the Father.
However, God knows I need to hear things more than once for them to sink in. Repetitio mater studiorum est. “Repetition is the mother of all learning.” Or as Robert Collier reminds us, it’s constant repetition that carries conviction.
So, God said it again. Same tune—different verse.
It came on the way home from worship as I turned in the car radio and instantly heard a song sung by Lauren Daigle called “You Say.” Here are the lyrics:
I keep fighting voices in my mind that say I’m not enough Every single lie that tells me I will never measure up
Am I more than just the sum of every high and every low? Remind me once again just who I am, because I need to know.
You say I am loved when I can’t feel a thing You say I am strong when I think I am weak You say I am held when I am falling short When I don’t belong, oh You say that I am Yours And I believe, oh I believe What You say of me I believe
The only thing that matters now is everything You think of me In You I find my worth, in You I find my identity,
You say I am loved when I can’t feel a thing You say I am strong when I think I am weak And You say I am held when I am falling short When I don’t belong, oh You say that I am Yours And I believe, oh I believe What You say of me Oh, I believe
Taking all I have and now I'm laying it at Your feet You have every failure God, and You'll have every victory,
You say I am loved when I can’t feel a thing You say I am strong when I think I am weak You say I am held when I am falling short When I don’t belong, oh You say that I am Yours And I believe, oh I believe What You say of me
I believe
Oh I believe, yes I believe What You say of me Oh I believe
What I need to do is to remember to listen to the right voice—the voice of Jesus who says to me that, in Christ,
I am a beloved child of The Father.
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