An Identity to Live For

I was just having a short conversation with my friend from Uni-Y. She needed help with coaching Sec 3 boys about servant leadership and needed ideas on how to best conduct the workshop.

We spoke over the phone, and one of the first few things I remember saying to her was:

“Don’t give them theories. You have to give the boys an identity to live up to.”

I remember one very interesting interaction I had with my 4.5 year old nephew. Once I saw him still being fed by my aunties (at 4.5 years old!), and I got a little annoyed, after asking him to eat himself a few times and failing to do so, I looked at him in all seriousness: “Elijah, are you a WARRIOR!?”. He frowned and returned the glance, and nodded his head. “Warriors eat their dinners by themselves you know.” “Are you a BABY?” He shook his head. “Only babies get others to feed them.”

Guess what, the next meal he had, he REFUSED people to help him. He insisted on eating himself! He drank and ate the whole meal by himself, refusing my aunties to help him, even though they kept saying that he’ll get dirty.

I was so amused by the interaction, but I remembered an important principle that day too:

Don’t try to change people’s behaviors by telling them straight. Remind them of who they are, and they will change accordingly.
It answers the biggest question of all: Who am I?

All of us come into earth into a state of spiritual amnesia, with our hearts forgetting its true home in God; our sonship in Him. Hence all of us spend our lives trying to answer that question, Who am I?

And I find that our primary approach to sanctification is incorrect. Of course, we want to become better people and love God more, but the way to it is never changing your behavior about what you do, but always receiving a greater revelation of who you are.

After all, God is the Great I Am, not the Great I Do.

So Who Am I?

What does the Bible have to say about who we are?

From the very beginning, God has already expressly said it:

We are made in the image of God our Father.

However, that statement has been made so many times that it has lost its power to speak life into us.

Truth, of all others the most awful and interesting, are too often considered as so true that they lose all the power of truth and lie bed ridden in the dormitory of the soul, side by side with the most despised and exploded errors – Coleridge.

Hmm, imagine Gladiator,

Or Braveheart.

If I told you (I speak to the guys) that your father was either one of them, what would it make you feel? Powerful? Strong? Fierce, maybe?

“My father overcame immense odds against the English to bring freedom to Scotland.”

“My father killed the evil Roman emperor to set liberty to the whole of Rome.”

Wow, we would have spoken that with a sense of pride. We would have felt powerful, because of our heritage and relation to such great men. “He was my father!”

But have we ever considered how much greater a man our Father in Heaven was? As I’ve said before, whatever that inspires us in men, we will see it in much more measure in our Father. And we are a stem of that victorious root!

But the story of most guys goes like this. As Narla in Lion King would sing,
“He’s holding back, he’s hiding; from what I can’t decide. Why won’t he be the king I know he is, the king I see inside?” – Can You Feel the Love Tonight

Because most guys would prefer to sing this song:
“Hakuna Matata, it means no worries, for the rest of your days. It’s our problem free philosophy. Hakuna Matata.” (Yes, this song has a negative connotation, no matter how catchy it sounds. Hahaha)

This is the song of a man who refuses to take charge, to rule and reign, and bear the burden for his kingdom, and the result? Darkness and chaos under the rule of evil. (i.e Scarface)

And so the High King Mufasa, returns to give my favorite speech of the show:

“Mufasa’s ghost: Simba, you have forgotten me.
Adult Simba: No. How could I?
Mufasa’s ghost: You have forgotten who you are and so have forgotten me. Look inside yourself, Simba. You are more than what you have become. You must take your place in the Circle of Life.
Adult Simba: How can I go back? I’m not who I used to be.
Mufasa’s ghost: Remember who you are. You are my son, and the one true king. Remember…”

The key phrase is this: Remember who you are!

Why most guys can’t change is simply because of this, they have forgotten who they are, and in doing so, forgotten who God is. This is big.

So you see, the key is not trying to become something you’re not. Most of us think we’re just lowly people that Jesus has given 2nd chance to be good, but the truth that God is speaking to us is this : You are a true King in the Kingdom of Heaven, Remember who you are!! Return to who you are from the beginning of time!!

Return to your Kingdom! Take the authority that is rightfully yours!

I hope my guy readers are getting this.

You CANNOT become better by trying to change your behaviors or trying to be more of this and that, what you need is not change. What you need is a revelation of your identity in God! When you have that, all you have to do is to enter into your position in Christ, and take the power and authority that is rightfully yours!!!

Anyway, go watch Lion King again with these eyes.

The key here is to remember! Goodness, this is so big, I just can’t stop emphasizing it. If you can receive this, it will change the way you see life, Christianity and God forever!

It is not to try to become something you’re not, nor is it to change into something that is more acceptable by people.

You ARE a king, a warrior, a mighty deliverer, as He is. Son of the Most High.

Now remember it.

How about women?

(I had originally intended to write this section, but it was such a big topic I thought I’ll just leave it for another day, which will probably never come. Ha)

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