When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” Matthew 16:13 NLT
I woke up one morning in a panic that shrouded me for many days. I didn’t quite know how to overcome this funk I was in. I seemed to be in a wandering place. It was the land of Nod. I didn’t feel as if I had any roots tying me to one place. We had sold our home in Oklahoma City. My oldest daughter was now a wife and busy mom of two energetic boys. My middle daughter and her husband had joined the work force and were tied up with their jobs and where their future was heading. My baby boy had gotten married, graduated from college, and was drafted to the NFL. He and his wife were joining the work force of America and heading off hundred of miles away to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The black and gold Steelers snatched him up when I was hoping for the blue and silver Cowboys to come calling. I had taken off the hat of a busy mom of three many years ago. I was no longer a cheer mom, or a soccer mom, or a football mom. Gone were the Saturdays of traveling to one Sooner football game after the other. All the energy that had been expended on all those endeavors were now just pent up inside of me. It seemed as if I had forgotten who I was in that maelstorm of what had been my life. Who am I? That thought crossed my mind multiple times throughout my days. I was the wife of Kevin Jones. I was still the mom of Nikki, Magen, and Landry. I was the mother-in-law to Adam, Brandon, and Whitney. I was Asher and Lucas’ La La. I was daughter to James and Peggy Guy; daughter-in-law to Fred and Jo Jones. I knew who I was to everyone else, I knew the answer to “Who do people say that I am,” but who was I to myself? What was my purpose? I had forgotten the answer to that question. I was experiencing an identity crises. I heard a distant call from somewhere deep inside myself. It was a still small voice crying out to me, “I have the answer to your question.” I opened up the Word of God. I began to find myself again. My story had already been written and played out in the lives of the people in the bible. I think that is why I am so drawn to the heros and heroines in God’s Word. People call them heros. People put them up on pedestals. But have you ever really observed their lives, I mean really observed them? Have you taken a microscope and examined their lives? Their lives were flawed. King David? Flawed! But God called him a man after His own heart. I found my life on the pages of the bible. My life was flawed but God loved me. My question I was asking of myself was flawed. It was the wrong question. I shouldn’t have been asking, “Who I am?” but “Whose I am?” I am a Child of God. I am a daughter of the King. He calls me royalty. He calls me His.
“But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priest, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9 NLT
He calls me chosen. He calls me holy. I have a purpose. I am to show others the goodness of God.
When Jesus asked this question to his disciples, He wasn’t experiencing an identity crises. He knew who He was. He was Son of Man. He is Son of God.
“One day when the crowds were being baptized, Jesus himself was baptized. As he was praying, the heavens opened, and the Holy Spirit, in bodily form, descended on him like a dove. and a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.” Luke 3:21-22
Jesus knew He was dearly loved by God. He always knew HE IS THE SON OF GOD. He knew his purpose. While He lived and breathed and walked on this earth in bodily form, He was to show the people who God really was. He was to point the way. He is THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. HE IS THE RESURRECTION. This was what He knew about himself. He never forgot it. He was tied to it everytime He went away by himself and prayed. He found himself in these quiet moments with His Father. He didn’t need the disciples to validate who He was. He didn’t ask them this question for validation. He asked them this question because He needed them to know His true identity.
Do you know your true identity? Do you know your true value? Do you know your worth? I will tell you. You are worth the life of the Son of God. That is how valuable you are.
Have you forgotten your purpose? Have you forgotten your true name? Do you know your true character? If you know Jesus as Your Lord and Savior, then stand up and sing, “I am a Child of God.” By the blood of His Son you became His. You are royalty.