Who's am I?

“. . . but you have received the Spirit of Adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba (Daddy), Father!’'" Romans 8:15-17

During the times of the Roman Empire there lived Rabbi Akiva. One day on his way home, he made a wrong turn and found himself standing at the gates of a Roman fortress. A sentinel called out two questions,”Who are you and why are you here?” Akiva repeated the questions to the sentinel. He replied, “Each day I ask these questions to all approaching this gate.” Akiva offered the sentinel three times his wage if he would stand outside Akiva’s home, asking these questions each morning as Akiva departed and each evening on his return.

Today, people are still searching for their personal answers to these two questions. These questions remain unanswerable until we truthfully first answer another question: not WHO I am, but WHOSE am I?

Do we belong to ourselves, the darkness, or the Creator? Sociologists determined that our identities express our values and morals, which are nurtured by family connections and experiences. As societies developed, surnames developed. My maiden name is Robinson, derived from my ancestors being sons or daughters of Robin. Peter was referred to first as Simon bar Jonah, Simon son of Jonah. As we receive the boundless grace of the Heavenly Father embodied in Christ, we are adopted into His family, becoming known as sons and daughters of Elohim, God.

As a young girl, my earthly father, a successful basketball coach, was known for his character and coaching abilities. While attending high school athletic events, I only identified myself as Coach Robinson’s daughter and entered free of charge. I’d walk into the facility with an air of seeming royalty. The favor I received, my identity, and my thoughts of my worth were determined by WHOSE I was, Coach’s daughter. I chose not to participate in activities that some friends engaged in because to do so would tarnish my dad’s name and reputation. After all, I'm Coach’s daughter. I loved him. My identity and being connected to him determined my actions which reinforced my identity creating a circle. Just as I was connected to him, he was connected to me.

Despite how healthy or seemingly harmful our natural identity development cascades from our past connections and experiences, God’s only begotten Son opens the opportunity for us to be adopted into God’s family thus transferring our identity from our past to a child of God. We can know Him. As we know Him, our thoughts of ourselves, living trapped in selfishness and fear, are renewed to an adventure truly living and experiencing His boundless love.

In the Hebrew culture, a natural born child can be denied his inheritance, but an adopted child can never be denied! Our position as God’s child secures our inheritance to know Him and experience His ever-deepening, perfect love. What prevents us from delving into the beauty of knowing our Father? We can discover Him through scripture exemplified in the following.

• Our Father is the Almighty God. (Psalm 89:8) Every word that He speaks contains within it the very power to perform what He speaks. In the span of His hand He holds the universe.
• He is the Great I Am, always was, is, and will be. He is eternal. (Psalm 90:2, 4)
• He is boundless, not confined by space, timeless. (Psalm 36:5-7) No one created Him. He is the Creator of all things.
• His holiness causes the mountains to tremble. (Isaiah 64:1)
• He is always right, blameless, pure and holy (Revelation 4:8)
• He is indescribable, undefinable. Mere words cannot touch His majesty. This is our Daddy, our Father. He is where our identity begins!

Activation:

Read Romans 8:14-17. Then be still, and know He is God, your Father (Psalm 46:10). Be prepared to write more scripture or draw a picture as you experience our Father and the joy of the journey of knowing Whose we are!!!