Remember Who You Are.

My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Psalm 139:15

 

(I invite you to play this quietly while reading.  There’s something about it that speaks what my words can’t.)

 

A whispered question:  Who. Are. You?

Do you know?

I’ve been asking myself this a lot lately.  Most of us, in truth, have no idea who we are.  Of those who think we do, many have misconstrued the definition.

I’d like to pause here and give a slow, awkward hand-clap to satan.  He’s done his job rather well.  Because if you don’t know who you are, you can’t be who you’re called to be.

But Paul gives us the answer to both:

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”  (Ephesians 2:10)

Here’s what I honestly thought when I learned this…  It’s too basic.  I am much more than that.  I am complex.  I have a wonderful/hard/triumphant/tragic/inspiring/broken story in me that includes my past, my present & my future.  I have been “intricately woven in the depths of the earth – made in SECRET“.  If I am God’s handiwork, I’ve fought tooth and nail to do Him justice.

And that’s the problem.  I’ve confused what I do with who I am.

This is the truth – We are:

• A Jar.
• Made of Clay.
• Empty.

And it’s the greatest thing we can be.  Not because we get be the equivalent of earth and water, but because there was no greater gift He could give us than Himself.  He literally fills our frame with everything we could never be on our own…

“For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts… But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” (Corinthians 4:6-7)

The Father carefully formed you.  He knows you.  You are unlike anyone, anywhere, at any other time in history.  And you are a vessel, forged to contain the treasure of Jesus in a way that will reflect Him like only you uniquely can.  If I spent my whole life trying, I could never do “you” as well as you.

Eph 2:10 tells us that you are “God’s Masterpiece“.  And the verse is clear – you belong to Him.  You are made for His purposes.  The question is are you doing them?  As hard as we might try to deny who we are.  It is what it is:

• Your job:  Be His treasure.
• His job:  Be a treasure to the world.

The miracle is that He uses you to do it.  But that’s also why we often confuse who we are vs. WHO HE IS IN US.  We must strive to never confuse this most important topic again.  You have so much value, because He made you.

If YOU don’t do what He’s calling you to do, no one will.

Do you understand the lives that will not be touched?  The people that will stay broken?  The miracles that will never happen?  The laughter, the tears, the healing, the hope… that will be lost if you don’t let Him be IN YOU the masterpiece He’s created you to be?

So who are you?…

You are a container.  And, make no mistake, you were created to be filled with something.  I pray it’s to the brim with His treasure, Jesus Christ.  What you DO with that is yours and yours alone.  But you are equipped in every way to do it with a grace that reflects the light of our Savior.  So go.  Be a parent, spouse, friend, servant, be a mover, be a shaker, be funny, be strong, be impacting, be brave.  Reflect your God.  Because there are many many many “jars of clay” which are filled with a deceiving darkness.   It’s what you carry inside of you – a light – that can overcome their emptiness.  “He prepared this work, in advance, for YOU to do.”  And that means you’re ready.

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This video clip has been on in my house repeatedly for days.  It’s softened my heart in a new way over and over.  Let us never forget:  “My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.”

What an honor it is.

(If you are playing the music track while reading, you’ll want to turn it off, before beginning this video)