Who Am I?

“Young man, who do you think you are?”

These words came from the lips of my saintly mother whenever she caught me in one of my many lapses of good judgment. Staying out late, sassy backtalk, neglecting responsibilities, and irreverence in church quickly earned her stern rebuke.

However, her question is thought-provoking: who do I think I am? Sometimes, I looked in the mirror and saw a success. Like a racehorse in a corral, I was waiting for someone to open the gate and let me out. But other times, I was the corral gate. Though I would swing from time to time, I always ended up at the same place, while others vamoosed to find their success.

In my early college days, I took several personality tests to help me find myself. But the thought of finding myself was frightening. What if I didn’t like me?

Recently, vocalist Lauren Daigle released an amazing song titled “You Say.” The lyrics are:

“I keep fighting voices in my mind that say I'm not enough,

Every single lie that tells me I will never measure up.

Am I more than just the sum of every high and every low,

Remind me once again just who I am because I need to know.

You say I am loved when I can't feel a thing,

You say I am strong when I think I am weak,

And you say I am held when I am falling short,

And when I don't belong, oh You say I am Yours.

And I believe, Oh, I believe,

What You say of me, I believe!”

After trying to find my identity in music, academics, and social organizations, I fell to my knees in defeat. Finally, in my junior year of college, I found my identity in Jesus. The words of the song by the group Casting Crowns explains, “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.” Outside of Christ, I am lost. But in Christ, I am found.

Others can search for their identity in wealth, career, or accolades of accomplishment. But they may not like what they find. My search ended when my commitment to Christ began. With the Apostle Paul, I now proclaim my goal: “In Christ, I live, move, and have my being (Acts 17:28).”

Who do I think I am? As Cindy Walker wrote, “Oh yes, oh yes, I’m a child of the King, His royal blood now flows in my veins; And I who was wretched and poor now can sing, Praise God, Praise God, I’m a child of the King.”