Who are you?  I mean, who are you really?  Now let me ask a much safer question, who do people see you as?  Maybe people see you as the incredible business man who has it all put together with the perfect job, the incredible salary, the 401k, and the quarterly bonus.  Or maybe people see you as the super-hero mom.  You know, the mom whose Facebook page says, look at me all you other moms.  Take notes, cause I’m gonna kick your butts.  My kids will write books about how great their summers were when they grow older.  Pinterest was created because of my house.  Or maybe people see you as the college student who is going somewhere fast.  You get good grades, and you hold down a job while balancing sports and extra curricular activities.  But who are you really?

I was at Ikea the other day waiting in a ridiculously long return line when it hit me, who am I really?  This wasn’t a pity party, or way of  patting my own back.  If anything it was a reality check.  (to be honest, it helped pass the time too…)  I was wondering, who am I really, and where do I find my identity?

Henri Nouwen wrote in his book, In the Name of Jesus,

I am deeply convinced that the Christian leader of the future is called to be completely irrelevant and to stand in this world with nothing to offer but his or her own vulnerable self.  That is the way Jesus came to reveal God’s love.  The great message that we have to carry, as ministers of God’s word and followers of Jesus, is that God loves us not because of what we do or accomplish, but because God has created and redeemed us in love and has chosen us to proclaim that love as the true source of all human life.

That challenges me!  It strips away any proud thoughts that I am something amazing or uniquely special.  I am unique and special, but it is only because I am a child of God who was created in His image.  As followers of Jesus we have the incredible privilege to share with others the good news that Jesus died for them and that God loves them with a never ending, never giving up, unbreakable love.  Here’s the really good news.  You can just be you.  No pressure to be anyone other than who God made you to be.  It isn’t through any kind of crafty language, or cunning illustrations that people are going to connect with Jesus.  In fact, it is with you just being you.  Simple, right?  It may even be as simple as asking someone to come over for a backyard bbq.

Quit trying to look like you are someone incredibly special.  You already are, you’re a child of God.  You don’t need to pretend like you are something more than that.  Relax.

~Peter