Who Are You?

Who are you? At first this question may seem trivial, but I assure you, there is nothing trivial about answering this question. Most of us will answer the question, “Who are you” by where we find our identity in life. So, “Who are you?” I am a father. I am a mother. I am a husband. I am a wife. I am an accountant. I am a teacher. I am the vice president of ABC Company. I am a Cornhusker. I am a Jayhawk. You see, when you answer the question “Who are you?” you answer it with an “I am” statement. I wonder how many of you answered the question, “Who are you?” with an answer like, “I am a child of God” or “I am a disciple of Jesus” or “I am a Christian”. My guess is that most of you didn’t answer “who are you” by identifying yourself with God. Why not? I think that in our daily lives many of us just don’t identify our lives with God. We tend to separate ourselves from Him and compartmentalize Him so that He doesn’t cause discomfort for us in our lives in the world. Agree or disagree?

You see friends, Jesus had no doubt who he was even if it caused discomfort, or challenges, or persecution in the world in which He lived? When asked the question, “Who are you”, Jesus would answer the question with an “I am” statement. In fact, he did so seven times in John’s gospel. Over the next seven weeks, we will look at each of these statements.

The first is, “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35). We eat bread to satisfy our physical hunger and sustain physical life. For us, as followers of Jesus, He is the “bread of life” that nourishes us spiritually and satisfies the deepest longings of our souls. So, when you answer the question “who are you” by identifying your life with Jesus and inviting Christ into your daily walk, you “will never go hungry” (John 6:35) and your spiritual desire to know God will be satisfied (John 4:14).

So, if someone looked at your spiritual life, what kind of bread would they say you are? Wonder bread? Whole grain? Sour dough? Moldy? Crusty? A heel? Fresh baked? (There is nothing better than fresh baked bread).

Self evaluation time: How are you being the bread of life for another person? How are you investing in another person and nourishing their spiritual life.

Who are you?

~ Tim Hall https://twitter.com/1timothy12 (I encourage feedback, questions & comments - email me at 1timothy46@gmail.com)