Who are you?

Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior (Psalm 25:5).

Who are you, really?

Who do you pretend to be?  A good student, a diligent worker?  A faithful spouse, a model parent?  You do all the right things—show respect to everyone, dress for success, show yourself as confident in your abilities—but you know it’s all a sham.  This isn’t who you really are, this is just the person that you want others to see.

Who do you aspire to be?  Do you want to be a person who never loses their cool in tough situations?  A guy who is courageous when the chips are down?  A gal who has the patience of a saint when dealing with others?  How aggravated do you get when you see the disconnect between who you are and who you want to be?

Who do you dread becoming?  An abusive man like your dad?  A pitiful alcoholic like cousin Josephine?  The man who gets no respect because he won’t stand up for himself?  The woman who always gets taken in by loving promises, only to be abandoned when things get serious?  Does fear of a downward spiral rob your days of happiness?

How you react to hardship provides a good snapshot of who you truly are.  When ambushed by a problem, do you blow your stack, freeze up, or start thinking of possible solutions?  When someone launches a personal attack against you, do you go into emotional lockdown, round up friends to take your side, or start asking questions to get at the heart of the matter?  How you behave in a crisis is starkly revealing.

Looking at yourself honestly is not much fun.  Trying to change yourself for the better is a tough slog, and pretending to be someone you’re not is exhausting.  But you know what?  Jesus knows who you really are, and He loves you anyway.  You are a child of God, precious to Christ despite your baggage, so precious that He laid down His life to make you His own.  He forgives your shortcomings and failures. He offers the hope of becoming a better person, not by your own feeble efforts, but through His wisdom and support.  You can walk a better path so long as you have the Lord Christ at your side, your hand firmly grasped in His.