Identity and Purpose 2

The questions: ‘Who Am I?’ and ‘What Am I Doing Here on earth?’ is common and universal, and intrinsic with our make up as human beings.  People of diverse culture, colour, language, creed and experience are frequently asking these questions irrespectively, whether consciously or not. Generation after generation have pondered and reflected upon these queries and the consequences are reflected on both the good and bad of our history. Our interpretation today of these very same questions will determine the present and the future development of our lives, families, communities, nations and the world. So it is absolutely imperative that we answer these questions wisely and correctly because a lot is at stake if we get it wrong.

Identity always precedes purpose and it is the best foundation for any charitable and enduring work on earth. It energises any effort for the goodwill of mankind and its fruits will outlive any other humanitarian works built on a less robust foundation. A strong self-belief based on one’s knowledge of oneself can lead to great innovating, life-changing and impacting endeavours. Consider Gandhi, Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King. These were ordinary individuals who accomplished extra-ordinary feats with global consequences. The hidden secret to their prodigious accomplishments that were visible for all to see was ‘identity’. They knew who they were and they gladly embraced it. Their self-belief and confidence were tested many times but what kept them going regardless was their deeply anchored belief in ‘who they were’.  They had the same attitude as Christ of Whom the bible described as: 

“A bruised reed He will not break and smoking flax He will not quench”

 Isaiah 42:3 NKJV

The true strength and power of every individual lies within, and this is aroused and emboldened when Jesus becomes Lord. The great achievers mentioned above can trace their success to the unbending will and resilience of their inner resolve because their ‘God encounters’ resurrected their true inner-self. It was the realization of who they were, accompanied by deep satisfaction and exhilarating joy of one’s identity, that moved these people and many alike in the world to perform astounding works that became the marvel of many. Jesus was a bruised reed but unbroken because He knew who He was. A smoking flax but unburnt because His strength and resolve was not in what He did, but in who He was.

Primacy of Salvation 

God’s primary work in our lives is to restore our identity before the outworking of His purpose. This is His commencing point with people, and it is inherent with His nature. When Moses enquired of God about His name for the great deliverance of Israel from Egypt, God’s answer was “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14). He didn’t say “I think I am” or “I am the God of this and that”. God went straight to the heart of the matter and identified Himself not by His great power to deliver Israel, but by Who He is. Jesus followed the same pattern by making bold statements like “I am the way, the truth and the life; I am the light of the world; I am the bread of life” and much more. The ‘I AM’ part was the essence in the identification of God and Christ to man and the same pattern is expected of every serious pursuer of God. Identity was the first thing God gave man in creation and it was the first to be lost in the Garden of Eden. Man was created in God’s image and likeness and when sin entered Adam and Eve, the image and likeness of God in man was severely crushed and distorted and the grace of God through Christ today is to reinstate man’s identity in God again. Without a thorough renovation of identity, our lives and works on earth will be on makeshift and shaky foundation. Matthew admonished us to ‘hear’ and ‘do’ His word for by doing, we are building our house (life) on a rock-solid foundation that life’s myriad of pressures cannot prevail. The hearing and doing of God’s word equates to the restoring of our image and identity in God because in this process, we are partaking of His divine nature. And the more we take on God, the more His nature becomes ours and we are surely transformed into who we really are in Him. As we find and behold God in hearing and doing His word, we are finding and beholding ourselves at the same time. This is the sure foundation for life. 

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock”

Matthew 7:24-25 NIV

From Simon to Peter

“When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"  They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." 

Matthew 16:13-17 NKJV

When Jesus addressed His disciples about the question; “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” He was engaging them in a dialogue on the issue of identity and subtly including them in the people category. It didn’t take long for the disciples to respond; “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets”. Jesus again made His intention clear by saying “What about you…Who do you say I am?”. And while they were pondering on the question, the Spirit of the Lord inspired Simon Peter and he said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God”. This is exactly what Jesus waited for; the capturing of His identity by His disciples where their identity would also be reflected and apprehended. We can only find ourselves when we can truly find God by the revelation of the Spirit. The result for Peter was that Jesus instantly changed his name from Simon the reed to Peter the rock. When Peter grasped who Jesus was, Peter also grasped who he really was and Jesus knew that a name change was necessary to suit his new identity. Peter instantly moved from Mr Unstable, inconsistent, oscillation and always speaking and acting on impulse; to Mr Stability, consistency and trustworthy. This was always the Peter in Christ’s mind but Simon needed a personal revelation of Christ in order to have a personal revelation of himself. He was not a reed as the name Simon designated but a rock in which the work of God could predicate. What happened after this was absolutely amazing. Jesus announced to Peter the very purpose of this encounter which was:

1.    The erection of a foundation for the building of His church so that hell could not prevail against it

2.    The entrustments to man of the keys of the kingdom

3.    The gaining of heaven’s response and endorsement on whatever Peter bound and loosed on earth

See how critical identity is? God wants to reveal His purpose and endow us with His divine authority, but the church must have a fresh authentic encounter with Christ in such manner, that we truly secure who we really are. An attainment of our true identity will warrant us the right to serve God’s purpose with all the resources and the backing of heaven. Let us press deeper into God until heaven declares upon us a name change, for we have attained the true us.