Who Am I?

 Have you ever wondered who you are or why you are alive? If you are born again, you would be appreciative of God's love and mercy. It is a good thing to reflect on God's graciousness from time to time. You may have been born into a Christian home, with parents who were Christians. Give thanks to God for that. As one who was not so fortunate but who later was saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9), I am eternally grateful to God for delivering me from sin and death and I often marvel at the love and compassion of God. Do you? Have you paused to consider where you might be if God had not stretched forth His hand towards you?

The Christian music group, Casting Crowns, wrote a song titled, 'Who Am I?. It's a powerful song and some of its lyrics are shown below:

Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name
Would care to feel my hurt
Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star
Would choose to light the way
For my ever wandering heart

Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are

I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean (ocean)
A vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am...
I am Yours, I am Yours

Today is a new day, the day that the LORD Himself has made. To gain an appreciation of His enormous power and might, let's read from the book of Genesis

"In the beginning God (Elohim) created [by forming from nothing] the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void or a waste and emptiness, and darkness was upon the face of the deep [primeval ocean that covered the unformed earth]. The Spirit of God was moving (hovering, brooding) over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. God saw that the light was good (pleasing, useful) and He affirmed and sustained it; and God separated the light [distinguishing it] from the darkness. And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day ... Then God said, “Let Us (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) make man in Our image, according to Our likeness [not physical, but a spiritual personality and moral likeness]; and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle, and over the entire earth, and over everything that creeps and crawls on the earth.” So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them [granting them certain authority] and said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subjugate it [putting it under your power]; and rule over (dominate) the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and every living thing that moves upon the earth.” (Genesis 1:1-5, 26-28, AMP)

God performed an awesome work, calling things into existence in accordance with His plan. There was no randomness, no off-the cuff actions, no presumptuous actions, or mindless activities. Everything that occurred was orchestrated in an orderly fashion at the highest level of excellence and creativity. It was simply indescribable. Think about it. God created DNA long before the scientists discovered it; He brought into existence countless species of plants and animals: He created the stars, planets and moons; He brought forth the oceans, rives, lakes and streams; He placed the mountains and hills in their positions and He created air (which is not only made up of oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide but also inert gases) for us to breathe. Amazing!!

"By volume, dry air contains 78.09% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.04% carbon dioxide, and small amounts of other gases. Air also contains a variable amount of water vapor, on average around 1% at sea level, and 0.4% over the entire atmosphere." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Earth)

God is good and kind and His mercy endures forever (Psalm 138). Without Him we would be doomed. For those who are still rebellious against Him, He is patient towards them just as He was patient towards the people in the time of Noah. He waited 100 years for their repentance, the time it took Noah to build the ark (Genesis 6 and 7). 

To the Church in Philadelphia, Jesus said

"I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name." (Revelation 3:8, NKJV)

God knows you by name, after all He created you. He has not changed and He will never change. Even though we are frail, here today gone tomorrow, sometimes tossed to and fro by the waves of life, at times feeling our hearts and minds waver ever so slightly or by leaps and bounds, we belong to God and He is glad to identify with us and be our Father. Incredible!

By His grace we can say with Apostle Paul, "We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body" (2 Corinthians 4:8). Troubles come, tribulations encroach upon us, challenges stretch us but inevitably we are loved with an inexhaustible, unconditional love by God. Hallelujah!! God is colour-blind in the sense that it does not matter whether you are black, white, red, yellow, red or whatever colour you think you are, He is there for you. 

Who am I? -  A child of God, washed in the Blood of Jesus, forgiven and saved, a disciple of Jesus, an ambassador for Christ, a minister of the Gospel given the ministry of reconciliation and equipped with the message of reconciliation. All by the grace of God. Who are you? 

Nobody is better than you and you are not better than anyone else. The composer of the song, 'Who Am I', sang 'I am Yours, I am Yours'. That is phenomenal. The Bible says 

"Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

If you  are born again the above passage is true about you. We (you and I) belong to God, the temple of the Holy Spirit, bought with a price - the Blood of Jesus. The devil cannot touch us because God is with us and He will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). This is fantabulous. We have our identity in Christ Jesus; once we were lost but now we have been found; once we were darkness but now we are the light of the world and the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13). We are not accidents or creations of mindless and chaotic events. God created us and knew us before we entered our mothers' wombs. That is to say before your parents met, God has already designed and created you. Really amazing!!

God told Jeremiah, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5)

You see, you are a vessel of honour in His hands. You may be an apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor or teacher with gifts to match. That is great but remember God is your Father and He will never cast you away. Rejoice in Him.  I pray that this would encourage you today. GOD HAS YOUR BACK.