SAFEGUARDING MY IDENTITY: Your identity is your inner self
Matthew 16:13–20: When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
What is identity? Identity involves who you are, your inner person, and your individuality. Who you are implies your name, your age, and other facts about you. Your inner self encompasses your values, thoughts, and ideas, which are not disconnected from your life goals. Your individuality is what distinguishes you from every other person. The inability to realize this means you have lost your identity. As R. Ellison observes, “When I discover who I am, I’ll be free.” Yes! Unless you discover your identity, you cannot claim to be living.
The book of Genesis notes that after creating man and woman, God saw that what He created was good because He created them in His image. This implies that the Creator created humans to be good, honest, just, and wise. Therefore, a life contrary to this means loss of identity, with the accompanying consequence. The moment a person loses his or her identity, he or she becomes a fully loaded truck on a sloppy road with faulty brakes. Such a person is a public nuisance and is capable of anything.
During his earthly mission, in the region of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus directed the following question to his disciples: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They informed him that people identified him as John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. What prompted Jesus to ask his disciples such a question?
He must have observed that people reacted differently to his teachings and utterances. There are four personalities the people saw in Jesus. Still not satisfied with external identification, Jesus interrogated the disciples further: “But you, who do say that I am?” On behalf of the Twelve, Peter identified Jesus as the “Christ, the Son of the living God.”
A world created in love and filled with love by God has a fake identity. Men and women created in God’s image have substituted such divine identity. The result is chaos. Although we profess strong faith in God, our behaviour and interaction with one another do not portray such a profession. This is as a result of identity loss. We do things to please some people without minding the harm we cause to others. We blindly carry out orders given by some religious and political leaders who have lost every godly identity in them. Many people live as if God does not exist.
Originality is what many people lack. Pretence everywhere! If Jesus had followed a general pattern, he would have lived and acted according to people’s identification. He would have been applauded and loved, but he would have failed in his mission. Big lesson from Jesus! Be yourself always! Do not live to please people except God. Regain your identity and stop living a borrowed life. Shalom!
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SUNDAY REFLECTIONS” (vols. I‑II-III)!! The reflection for the 21st Sunday of the year (A) is found in The Word of Life, vol. I, pages 415–421. Happy reading!
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