We all have an inner longing to know that we have a people and a place – somewhere we can go to be known and accepted. Do you have that in your life? Do you need that in your life? When I sit at my dinner table on a Sunday evening, when I walk the halls of my church, when I video-call with my sister…. I can now say, “These are my place and my people.” It wasn’t always like this. Something else needed to get settled first.
The majority of my life I have been fighting to find my place, my purpose, my people. But, by the grace and engagement of Jesus in my life, those moments rise up less than they used to. One of the tools in fighting this battle is going to the right source to answer the questions of who I am and where do I belong.
In the gospel of Mark, chapter 8, we see a conversation between Jesus and his disciple Peter. Jesus questions who people are saying he is and then turns and asks Peter, “Who do you say I am?” This leads us to reflect on this question for ourselves. And to notice, who are we asking?
In order to get the truth, we must ask the source of all sources.
God has declared, as recapped by Paul in Romans chapter 8, that he is our God and we are his children. We have a place! We have a people! It is with him! When we settle into this certainty that we are his – that we belong – the world’s assessments, criticisms, judgments and accusations dissolve away and we begin to clearly see the truth.
Leo Tolstoy says this, “Truth, like gold, is to be obtained not by its growth, but by washing away from it all that is not gold.”
To get to the truth, we posture ourselves as his child, crying Abba! Father! Then, in this settled, firm foundation stance, we ask, “God, who do you say I am?” and “What do you want me to know?”
Try it. Get up. Get into your super hero pose and talk to God about who HE thinks you are.
In response to this recent sermon at Bridgewood Church, a friend mentioned the song below. I’ve heard it before, but it wasn’t on my radar when preparing the message. Now it’s on my playlist…
Enjoy the words, enjoy the truth…
Sharon Franta 