DO YOU NOW WHO YOU ARE?

DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE?

 

Some of you might get irritated by the headline. “Of course I know who I am. I am Bill Smith.” The fact is that I am not so interested in neither your first nor your last name. I do believe that most of you know your name. Even small children do. In countries like India they children might have gotten the name of an idol, but when they become a child of God they change their names. They do not want to be identified with an idol.

When I have people in counselling, I hear people talk about themselves with very negative words. They might describe themselves with a lot of mistakes and shortcomings both in the outward appearance and on the inside. They describe their own self-image, but it might not be the true picture of themselves. I will say the same about your emotions. They might be very strong, but not necessarily true. I do believe that way too many are governed by their emotions.

In The Old Testament we have a story about Mephibosheth. When the entire family of Saul was killed, king David asked if there wasn’t anyone left in the family he could bless. King David had made a covenant with Jonathan, the son of Saul and a covenant was taken very seriously in those days. It turned out that Jonathan had a son that was lame and that was looked upon with disgrace in those days and unfortunately that is the same in some places today. Mephibosheth and his family were taken to the king’s palace and they were eating at the king’s table. Mephibosheth did not know who he was. He called himself a dog. That was a wrong self-image. I hope that he changed his identity when he moved into the king’s palace. He was treated as a royal being and got a dignity he never had.

Do you know that you have moved from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. Earlier you might have had an identity as a drug addict or an alcoholic. Maybe you felt that your life was a failure. Now you have moved into a kingdom of blessings and you have gotten one saying: Everything you do shall prosper. We have become sons and daughters to a Father who has created heaven and earth and created everything with life in them. We have gotten a Brother who took all our sins away and all our shame and in His wounds we have received health. Do you understand what kind of family you are part of? No, I do not think that we fully understand that. If we did, we would talk differently and act differently.

When I travel to other countries, I meet sisters and brothers with a different appearance, language and another culture. They are still my sisters and brothers since we have the same Father. I India many are having a low self-esteem and I have many times pointed at my white arm and I have asked: “Do you think that God listens to me because of my white skin?” Some actually believe that. I have been to places where they never saw a white person and they thought I was an angel. God loves all His children and He listens and answers everybody in spite of outward appearance. He sees your heart.

What are you saying about yourself? I do believe that some of you talk about yourself in a manner making your Daddy unhappy. As a mother I am proud of my daughters and I thank God for them and I do not want them to talk bad about themselves. I can hear some of you saying: “You do not understand. I have made so many mistakes and I should have lost some weight and I went bankrupt a month ago.” None of us are perfect except in the spirit. We are all having some flesh that we must fight. In 1.John 1:9 we read that if we have sinned, we should confess our sins and the Lord is just and faithful and He will forgive us our sins. Do you really think that God sits in heaven and complain about your weight? If you are sick because of overweight, ask the Lord to help you to reduce. He is the Head doctor. Put your economy in His hands and He will help you to succeed. The devil wants to tell you that everything is over, but the Lord encourages you to trust in Him for a new beginning.

Some people are identifying with their sickness. When we speak about Bartimaeus in the Bible, we talk about the blind Bartimaeus. He was healed and got his sight back. When he did that, he threw away a coat that identified him as blind. He changed his identity. Before I was talking about a sickness as my sickness, but that is not true. It is an enemy that Jesus took with Him on  the Cross.

I am quite proud over my Norwegian citizenship. I introduce myself as Norwegian even if I live in Sweden. Every country has its own culture and there might be a great difference between the countries. Are you proud of your citizenship?

When we read Ephesians 1, many of the verses starts with “in Him”, “in Christ” It is in Him that we should have our identity. We are chosen by Him and in Him do we have our freedom. We are heirs in Him and we are sealed with The Holy Spirit. You might read the entire chapter.

Some people have their identity in their occupation and profession and we say doctors, teachers, pastors, housewives and so on.

When we talk about others, be careful. Do not say: “You know the man with the big nose or the woman who is always talking.”

LET US SEE OURSELVES AND OTHERS THROUGH GOD’S GLASSES!

Mother Else