Who are you? That’s the incredibly important question John 8:13-20 can help answer.
Unwilling to allow it to stand unchallenged, the Pharisees tried to discredit Jesus’ claim that he was the light of the world by invoking a legal argument. According to their law, two independent witnesses were required to establish the truth of a matter. So, they insisted his self-description was invalid.
In response, Jesus repeated what he’d already made clear in chapter 5 – that the Heavenly Father is his corroborating witness.
And that’s all that needed to be said. But he chose to add something here in verse 14 I find fascinating and believe was intended for our benefit. He said that even if his testimony regarding this aspect of his identity stood on its own, it would be true. And then, he explained why – because he knew where he came from and where he was going.
Perhaps you’ve noticed that people frequently self-describe in ways that are misleading, inaccurate, or incomplete – presenting themselves as someone they’re not. I know I’ve been guilty of this. I’ve caught myself shaping my persona, backstory, and identity to fit my own aspirations, the expectations of others, or my circumstances instead of my personal truth not because I was trying to be deceptive, but because I didn’t really know myself.
And the daily task of trying make sure I was wearing the right costume for the right situation was exhausting. It’s a burden none of us are built to bear. We are meant to simply be ourselves and confidently present ourselves as ourselves.
Who knew it could be that simple?
Well, it is simple. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy. It requires an honest assessment of our history alongside a clear-eyed sense of our destiny. Like Jesus, if our internal and external statements of identity – what we believe about ourselves and present to others – are going to be true, we need to know where we’ve come from and where we’re going.
What does that mean?
To start with, it means confronting the influences of our past – those relationships and experiences that have shaped us – and allowing the Lord to address with his loving truth any distorted concepts of our personhood that have resulted. This healing of our souls is what provides a healthy understanding of how God sees us so we can embrace his perspective as our own.
Next, we need to get clear about where we’re headed. And it’s more about knowing who will determine that than it is about having all the details mapped out. The question regarding who’s been assigned the driver’s seat in our lives is what needs to be answered. Once that’s settled, life’s twists and turns can be navigated without an undue weight of concern for what others think. We can just enjoy the ride.
So, let’s take a few minutes right now to invite the Holy Spirit to reshape – by the power of his grace – those aspects of our identity that have been falsely distorted by our past, and to take control of setting the course for our future so that we can live in the solid assurance of who and whose we are.
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