“But now, O Jacob, listen to the LORD who created you.

O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.  

I have called you by name; you are mine.”

- Isaiah 43:1

“For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God…Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, 

which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.”

 – Colossians 3:3, 9-10

Take a few moments and ask yourself the question: “Who am I?”  What comes to mind?

Perhaps your first thoughts are of being a parent, being a woman or a man… 

Perhaps you first thoughts are of what you do for a living…

Perhaps your first thoughts are of being a believer in Jesus Christ…

Perhaps you first answered the question by considering what you are not…

There are many things in our lives that define who we are.  Just think about the demographic information that the US Census bureau publishes.  

We can be defined by our age: 5, 13, 17, 21, 35, 47, 55, 65, 82, 90.  

We can be defined by our ethnicity: White, Black, Latino, Native American, Cambodian, Japaneese, Eskimo.  

We can be defined by our sex: Male, female.  

We can be defined by our marital status: Married, separated, divorced, single, widow, widower.  

We can be defined by our level of education: High school diploma, GED, Bachelors, Masters, Certification, PhD.  

We can be defined by the state of our health: Good, poor, fair, failing, chronic illness.  

We can be defined by our employment status: Employed, Unemployed, Retired.  

We can be defined by our parental status: Mother, Father, legal guardian, foster parent, Grandparent, Great-grandparent.  

We can answer the question “Who am I?” in many ways and throughout our lives the first response that comes to mind isn’t always the same. The newly married, or new parents are beginning to understand who they are in light of daily living their lives beside someone else. The recent graduate defines who they are and where they are going differently than when they attended their first class. The newly employed, recently let-go and recently retired are all staring down the day to come, trying to understand themselves in light of their new employment status.

 By being believer’s in Christ, in His death and resurrection, we have been made children of God; our identity, at its very core, is as a beloved child of God – we are one of his very own.  No matter if we are a man, woman, a husband, wife, or widower; a single parent, legal guardian, or grandparent; a student, manager, sales clerk, doctor, or mechanic; financially secure or living in poverty; depressed or anxious.  At our very core we are beloved children of God.

When the world around us changes; when that which can define us changes: we get sick, our health fails, our children move out, we are forced into retirement or loose a job, we loose a loved one, who we are in Christ does not change.  There is nothing we can do nor nothing that can be done to us that can take it away from us.  When we no longer feel valuable to the world around us or to the people in our lives, because we feel that we are not young enough, strong enough, intelligent enough, skilled and educated enough, we can take comfort in knowing that our value in God’s eyes does not change. God wants you.  He wants me.  He wants all of us as we are, that is, living in a constant state of being made new in Him.  We need not try to be something or someone we are not when we come before Him because we think it is what he wants; we need not think we are only valuable to him if we are pious and disciplined, charismatic and outgoing, knowledgeable and wise.

God has gifted each of us with gifts, talents, skills and opportunities so that we might honor and praise his name.  But our value in God’s eyes does is not dependent upon those blessings.  Success in the eyes of the world, what the world considers valuable and even how we determine whether or not we or someone else is valuable, is not the way God defines our success or determines our value.  When we can no longer sing or play, write or speak; when we can no longer work, carry, walk, or run. We are still children of God, we are still valuable to God. 

When we hear Jesus calling, “Follow me”, it is hard to believe He is talking to us; it is hard to believe that he wants us to be his hands and feet to the people around us.  It is hard not to try and change how we present ourselves to God and to the world around us.  After all, wouldn’t God prefer someone who has life a little bit more together?  Someone who doesn’t get angry; Someone who doesn’t gossip and lie; Someone who hasn’t made mistakes and isn’t broken; Someone who can walk, see, or speak eloquently.

But Jesus calls to us.  God calls us children, redeemed and restored.  It is here that our value lies.  When he calls us, we don’t need to hide behind masks of who we think God wants us to be.  We don’t need to hide behind achievements or past failings.  

We don’t need to rely on our own gifts and talents to be his hands and feet.  When he calls us to join him in the places where he is already working we only need to know that we are children of God, redeemed and loved. That is our message - that is what we are called to share in many and various ways.

We are all constantly being made new.  We have died; our lives are hidden in Christ with God.  He has redeemed us, called us by name.  We are His and He is ours.  He wants you.  He wants me.  He wants us.