Over the next few days, I will be posting a four-part series based on a recent talk I gave at the Walnut Street Church of Christ “Ladies Day” in Dickson, Tennessee. The topic was on self-identity and its development in Christ. I hope you enjoy this series entitled “Seeing Clearly”.
As a nurse, I have been privileged to serve people from all walks of life. It is through this lens that I have had a front-row seat in observing people, and it has brought into focus this idea of self-identity which I believe is the uniting thread that connects all of us to our humanity. There is no other created being that is capable of being able to stop and reflect on itself. Think about that for just a second. This idea of self-identity is uniquely ours.
Reflecting back on my patients over the years, the patient in front of me could have been the richest, most influential person in the community, or they could have been a homeless person found on the street, but in a hospital gown, both people were my patient. People in need of help, and more alike in that circumstance than they were different. Illness has a way of revealing people. See, when you strip away your role in life, your socioeconomic status, your gadgets, gizmos, and labels – who are you? How do we arrive at the point where we tell ourselves that we have been a success or a failure, and how do we determine that this opinion is valid?
How you see yourself matters because it acts as a bridge to your actions. In the Bible, we can think of Sarah and how she laughed over the idea of having a child in her old age. Moses was in disbelief when the Lord told him that he was to be the leader of the Israelites. How do we develop our own unique self-identity?
The person that we “see” ourselves as is derived from a collection of experiences that begin from the time we are aware of ourselves as an independent person capable of making independent decisions – which arrives at about age two. I know this because I can clearly remember my daughter going through this phase with a fierce determination and the phrase “I do it!” being her constant mantra.
As toddlers progress into adolescence, the social aspect of friends and social media influences self-identity which carries over into young adulthood that is marked by the establishment of professional identities and maybe romantic relationships. Middle adulthood is influenced by balancing work, family and life events coupled with the beginnings of having to consider caring for parents and facing the possible development of chronic illness. Family dynamics begin to change as children begin to leave home and establish their own lives and paths. Older adulthood is faced with the challenges of aging that bring with it the realization of limitations on physical and maybe cognitive aspects of the body along with the changing dynamics of marriages and social life.
At all stages of life, our identity is being refined. Ultimately we are a product of our collective narrative. All of the choices, relationships, roles, and responsibilities come together to create within us the image of who we believe that we are. It would be great if we could delete all of the negative experiences, but those serve as a contrast to the positive experiences in our lives. Each of them is necessary for us to learn and grow and form a healthy self-identity.
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Galatians 2:20 (ESV)
Giving God the Glory 