Who Are You?

background image from en.wikipedia.org

I can totally see how it would have been easy for desperate people to confuse John the Baptist for the Messiah they had been waiting for.  John was like no one the world had ever known before.

But John knew who he Was - and who he was NOT!

Sometimes it seems as though we are trying so hard to discover who we are, that we allow others to tell us who we are.  Or even try to become who other people want us to be.

But, "as important as knowing who you are is knowing who you are NOT!"

I wrote these words in my Bible right next to John the Baptist's statement in John 1:20 - "I am not the Christ."  But I didn't write who said it, so I'm not sure if I copied that quote, or actually penned it myself...

But those words really struck me today.  As we desperately seek to know WHO we are, I think it is just as important that we remember who we are NOT.

We are bombarded by a world that loves to label - everything and everyone.  And it can be difficult to decipher WHO we really are, when we are constantly be defined by someone else.

When questioned, John was quick to answer who he was NOT:

• He was NOT the Christ.
• He was NOT Elijah.
• He was NOT the Prophet.

And after he has denied who he was NOT, he finally quoted the prophet Isaiah when divulging who he WAS.

"I am the voice of one calling in the desert,

'Make straight the way for the Lord.'"

 John was in fact the one who would come to testify about Jesus - and not himself.

Our world loves to tell us who we are.  But most of the time, all we hear are lies.

I have seen too many examples of the lies that my friends are believing about themselves.  And I feel more compelled than ever to address this and remind us all who we are and who we are not.  Over the next few weeks we are going to examine both according to our Heavenly Father.