Identity and Purpose
Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Psalm 100:3
There are few things more important to me than helping my children cultivate a right view of their identity. At the core of one’s being is their identity. It is who he or she is. An identity provides the lens through which one will view his or her life. A person’s identity also implicitly identifies the presuppositions from which he or she builds an understanding of the world, truth, God, and his or her place among creation (“worldview”).
Our world is confused about having the ability to self-identify. A widely accepted approach to figuring out one’s identity goes something like this – first, look inward to your (flawed) feelings, let your feelings guide your decision-making and your thoughts about who you are, then find others who agree with you, and finally, sprinkle in some spirituality that aligns with your thinking or affirms it, if desired.
The self-evident issue with us being our own source of truth is that our feelings are flawed. And they change. And they can be swayed or manipulated by others. And did I mention they change? We are not objective as we are finite, imperfect creatures, so ultimate truth cannot be found within us.
Our children will be further entrenched in the self-identifying iCulture, if we, as parents, do not fulfill our role in discipling them to understand who they are and what their role is in God’s creation.
At our first chapel (both lower and middle/upper school), I taught on how our identity, value, and purpose are inextricably woven together, and that we, as humans, do not get to self-identify.
Our value is innately different from that of the rest of creation. Case in point, if a family goes through financial hardships, it’s not difficult to decide who has to go – Rover the pup or the children. Our value is unique among creation because God breathed His breath into Adam and made us in His image. We reflect the Imago Dei. We share attributes with God, unlike any other created beings. We as humans have been tasked with cultivating and governing. We have the responsibility to create order and foster rightly ordered affections.
This is not to discount the wonder of God’s creation, but dogs don’t get together and discuss their history, reflect on what happens when they die, or consider their place in western civilization.
Do you think I am trying to weave a spell? Perhaps I am; but remember your fairy tales. Spells are used for breaking enchantments as well as for inducing them. And you and I have need of the strongest spell that can be found to wake us from the evil enchantment of worldliness which has been laid upon us for nearly a hundred years. Almost our whole education has been directed to silencing this shy, persistent, inner voice; almost all our modern philosophies have been devised to convince us that the good of man is to be found on this earth.
CS Lewis, The Weight of Glory
Having spent the bulk of my professional career in the kind of educational system described by Lewis, I did not always see the symptoms of the underlying, foundational enchantments that are being conjured. But a dormant or covered up symptom does not mean disease is not present. The foundation of this system dictates to its constituents what is true, good, and beautiful – what is worth pursuing.
Enchantments are being promoted to our world, to us, and to our children:
You are the source of your own truth.
You are enough.
You determine who and what you are and will be.
You have the right to complete autonomy.
You should do what makes you happy.
Follow your heart.
The Gospel is the antithetical antidote to the enchantments promoted in our world:
1. “Jesus is the way, the TRUTH and the life.” (John 14:6)
2. “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8, also see Ephesians 2:1-5). You can’t ever be enough and you don’t have to be. Praise God that Jesus’ work on the cross is completed and HE is enough.
3. In Genesis 1, Psalm 139, and 1 Peter 2, among other passages, we are given our identities, directly by God Himself:
Humans
Image Bearers
Males/Females
Pinnacle of creation
God placed you with your family in this place at this time.
“The days that were formed for me.”
A Chosen Race (Greek word genos, or generation/offspring)
Shown Mercy or Pitied
God’s Possession
Holy
A Royal Priesthood
4. “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6: 19-20)
5. “In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11b). John Piper summarizes the relationship between God’s glory and man’s happiness like this, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” When we love God, this brings lasting joy regardless of circumstances rather than fleeting happiness based on our circumstances.
6. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5). We should “tune our heart” to God’s will. When we align our heart’s affections, desires, and actions with God’s Word and His commands, there is no problem with following your heart. However, we are all sinners with hearts that are “deceitful above all things” (Jeremiah 17:9) which, as Calvin said, is a perpetual idol factory.
As a Royal Priesthood, it is our purpose, calling, and duty to proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light (v. 9).
We get to train our kids to walk in the truth of their God-given identity – with the peace and hope of resting in God’s faithfulness as a royal priesthood – proclaiming God’s mercy to those who are still enslaved and waiting to be freed and transformed by His goodness.
We can find rest, joy, and peace in who and what we were created to be.
Greg Forrest