So, Who Are You?

So, Who Are You?

Good Morning Friends,

Discovering who you are as a Christian is maybe a little like participating in the Olympics: Some were made to snowboard. Some to skate, others to ski, some to play ice hockey and still others to play curling. But all are in love with their chosen sport and train and have to deal with spectators and rules and hopefully rewards. This is a lot like life. The Olympic Charter says:

“The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.”

In a pay to play reality it is important to help others who do not have the money to play. In a world with poverty Christians need to level the playing field and learn. You see the athletes in the Olympics, as best I can tell, are going through a process instructive for those who would call themselves Christians, for these people are discovering who they are. And with so many false professors, hypocrites and false prophets it is worth asking the question of ourselves. So, Who Are You?

Scripture: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Matthew 7:21-23 (NIV)

O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it. Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me become night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you. For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed. How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! I try to count them—they are more than the sand; I come to the end—I am still with you. O that you would kill the wicked, O God, and that the bloodthirsty would depart from me—those who speak of you maliciously, and lift themselves up against you for evil! Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies. Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 139 (NRSV)

For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

Psalms 51:16-17 (KJV)

Message: As you stare in the mirror contemplating today’s question know that writers and philosophers and even ordinary people have been pondering this question since the beginning of time. We are not alone with this question, and guess what? We are not a thing that is set in stone. We change, grow and adapt to things that are around us. However, who we are in our core is pretty much set early on in life. So, how do we find out who we really are? How do we remember what we have forgotten? How do we discover what we have never learned? The problem is that when people think of God, church, religion or things of that nature they usually think of a code of ethics, rules or rituals…the rules of the game, but the core of the sport of life is so much more. When asked what is important to God people will quote rules. They may mention baptism, membership or giving. Many of the things they might mention are well and good in their place, but, listen up, they are not the most important things to God. Who you are is the most important thing. And that is true for the Olympics too.

As I write this morning I am going through a process, an Olympic size task, of finding an answer that links who I am with what I do. Here I become aware of my thoughts and own them for they are mine and allow God to come to me where I am, and as I contemplate the interlocking parts I seek to honor who I really am. Here I must set priorities and take responsibility for my actions. Here I ask people I trust for help and spend time with people different from me so I might find balance and then quietly alone I ponder what I am creating and address the flaws in the time I have and challenge myself to do better. Maybe you too go through a similar process. I see it in scripture as it humbles my spirit. I see it in the athletes as they compete for the gold. Friends, learn what it means to be who you really are. Know that your highest and best self can only be discovered on a journey with God. Without God you really do not exist as your best self.

Pray we go to God to discover who we are. Pray we do the will of the Father because it is the right thing to do. Pray we are true to who we really are or at least in the hope of who we may become. Pray we live consciously and courageously. Pray we resonate with love and compassion. Pray we awaken in others the Great Spirit. Pray we are at peace. Pray we not fail on the quest. Pray we have truth in our innermost being. Pray we believe in Jesus so God might believe in us. Pray we never stop communicating with God.

Blessings,

John Lawson