One of the scenes in a movie that’s on my list of favorites speaks as clearly as anything I have ever read or seen about a person’s identity. In The Lion King, Mufasa the great Lion King appears to his son, Simba, and challenges him to remember who he is. Simba had lost his way in life because he had forgotten what was at the core of his soul. He had neglected to live out who he had been born to be. As a result, the entire kingdom had been stolen and had fallen on desperate times. Only when Simba embraces his true identity was hope restored, not only to his life, but also to the entire lion community. “Simba, remember who you are!”
Do you really know who you are? Have you forgotten whom God has created you and called you to be? The Bible tells us that we are part of an eternal story…God’s story. As part of that story, we have been created to reflect God Himself. We are His representatives in our world. You and I have huge personal value because we have had our lives cast in the mold of a loving, personal, powerful and holy God. The very characteristics that belong to God, such as dignity, rest, love, creativity, depth of relationships, truthfulness and persistence, among many others, have been graciously imparted to us. You are not an accident. You are a person who has been spoken into existence out of love and for a purpose. The powerful image of God forming Adam from the dirt of the earth and then blowing the breath of life into his lifeless shell is one that should stick in our minds and hearts daily. This, in contrast to the daily messages we receive through advertising, television, magazines and the reality of life that we don’t measure up.
Today, we each have choices to make. Will we listen to the voices of culture that want to convince us of our worthlessness? Will we give in to pressures that want to keep us constantly searching for our worth through products or programs? Or, will we listen to the voice of the One who knows each of us by name and has intimately called us His own? If you are like me, the choice, though obvious, is a difficult one to make. Today, be a person who responds to the God of love. Remember who you are!
How great is the love of the Father…he has lavished his love upon us. We are called the children of God. And that is who we are! — 1 John 1:3
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