Identity

I must admit that my thoughts have been pretty consumed with the issue of identity since yesterday morning. How do I identitfy myself, why do I identify myself that way, is that really who I am? Honestly this seems a somewhat strange place to bring it up since MySpace is often about how you wnat people to see you, to identify who you are. And its not always the real you. Its the you that you desire people to see and believe.

I just glanced over at the bookcase next to my computer and right there at eye level is a book titled "The search for significance". It is such an apt description of our culture, of my generation and those younger than I. We are searching for a sense of significance, a sense that our lives have meaning. As a follower of Jesus its natural to simply say that I'm a child of God. So why do I still search.

Bono wrote:

"I believe in the Kingdom Come, then all the colours will bleed into one, But yes I'm still running, You broke the bonds, You loosed the chains, You carried the cross and my shame, You know I believe it but I still haven't found what I'm looking for."

Sometimes belief isn't enough. We can believe in things all we want but if we don't find an identity that we can fully embrace we will always keep looking. The thing that keeps reverberating through my head from yesterday is the imago Dei, the image of God. I have no doubt that God loves us. I have no doubt that despite how screwed up I am God loves me. And so this idea of being a bearer of the image of God becomes so striking. I've read the Genesis account so many times I've become a bit numb to it. And yet there God says that he is making humankind in His image. So we are all bearers of the image of God even in this messed up world we've created for ourselves. Am I really willing to see myself that way, accept that identity? Am I willing to see others that way regardless of how I may feel about them?

This tension is a huge part of who I am. I am trying to live a life that truly reflects what I believe. And the challenges are new each day as I grow in my faith and knowledge of God. So here I find myself accepting a new aspect of this identity. Twisted and warped though I may be, my prayer is that the people I come into contact with each day would be able to see the image of God in me. More than that I pray that they would truly encounter Jesus through me.