Ephesians 2:11-13, 19 11 You who are not Jews by birth, here is what I want you to remember. You are called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "circumcised." But they have only been circumcised in their bodies by human hands. 12 Before you believed in Christ, you were separated from him. You were not considered to be citizens of Israel. You were not included in what the covenants promised. You were without hope and without God in the world. 13 At one time you were far away from God. But now you belong to Christ Jesus. He spilled his blood for you. That has brought you near to God.
19 So you are no longer strangers and outsiders. You are citizens together with God's people. You are members of God's family.
A few years ago, my wife, daughters, and I went on a car trip to Canada. It was for the first time the girls had left the United Sates, so we really weren’t sure that they would understand that things would be a bit different (like no American flags flying). But what really surprised us was the process of crossing the border. We thought, because we were Americans and we have a relatively open border with Canada, that crossing over would be rather simple. Well, not quite as simple as we though. Here’s what we discovered.
A border patrol officer comes to your window, looks into your car and proceeds to ask you four questions: (1) Who are you? (2) Where are you from? (3) Where are you going? (4) What is your purpose?
Although Lewisville isn’t a border town, I believe that these questions also apply to our spiritual life as well. Let’s look at them.
1. "Who are you?"
Who are you? We could answer this relationally. In part, we are either brothers or sisters, husbands or wives, fathers or mothers, sons or daughters. But that identity is not all we are.
We could answer this vocationally. In part, we are what we do. We are doctors or business managers or auto mechanics or teachers or farmers or waiters or police officers. But that identity is not all we are.
Our identity is further piecemealed if we attempt to define ourselves as a conservative or a liberal, a Democrat or a Republican, an optimist or a pessimist, a Leo or a Capricorn, a Protestant or a Catholic. All those facets of your identity can be shaken away.
Our identity has to be more than who we associate with though. When we get down to it when you look in the mirror, who do you see looking back?
A few weeks, I went to the doctor for a check-up. The doctor looked me over and asked if I had any concerns. I said, “Well, every morning when I get up and look in the mirror, I see thinning hair, bags under my eyes, sagging jowls, a bilging stomach, broken teeth, and bloodshot eyes. What’s going on with me?” The doctor replied, “Well, I’m not sure, but I can tell you this…Your eyesight is perfect!”
We may not always like what we see in the mirror, but unless we have a magic mirror like in Snow White, who we see is who we are. Or is it?
Who are you? On the surface that may sound like an absurd question for me to ask, but you and I know so many people who reach a point in life where they throw up there hands and say, “I don’t know who I am anymore.” How sad is that? When you have done so much to make a name for yourself and no longer even recognize who you truly are.
We’ll come back to that later.
2. "Where are you from?"
The next question is, “Where are you from?” Instead of looking at this in geographic terms, let’s look at it on the spiritual realm.
Where are we from? I don’t know about you, but I know there have been plenty of places that my journey through life has taken me that I am not proud of. Places of deep sin. The problem with that is that often the sin gets hold of me and keeps me from moving forward – just keeps holding me right there with it, in the presence of sin and I feel trapped and all alone. And when I finally am able to break free enough to escape its clutches, by then I’m so disoriented, that I wander around aimlessly.
3. "Where are you going?"
Thus, this brings us to the third question, “Where are you going?” I don’t know about you, but I like maps. I can sit and look at maps for hours. But maps don’t always help (and a GPS isn’t always ver accurate either)
Now along our life journey, sometimes we need something or someone to gets us back on track. So we need to listen to the voices that are pointing us in the right direction.
4. "What is your purpose?"
The fourth question is “What is your purpose?” Actually, this question goes back to the first, “Who are you?” For those who call themselves Christian, these two questions are indelibly linked together.
Some years ago, Dr. Thomas Langford was up for election to the office of bishop, which you know is the highest office that clergy can hold in the UMC. After several rounds of ballots, it became clear that he would not win the position and so he stood to give his withdrawal speech. Instead of saying what most were expecting, Dr. Langford said this, “There is no higher calling than to be Christian.”
Friends, some of you have forgotten who you are. If you find that to be you today, then listen to me
– You are the unique and precious child of the Most High God. And this God has not forgotten you, nor forsaken you. You just have to remember who you are.
All of us need to hear and remember these words, “You are more than you have become.” Did you hear that? “You are more than you have become.” That means that your journey continues, you still have much to do and much more perfecting to do.
Remember. Remember who you are and whose you are. Amen.
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