Mensa Otabil - Who Are You? (10/03/2025)
This week, our devotion will be based on questioning, so I'm going to ask a lot of questions, and we will attempt to answer them. The first of those questions is, who are you? In John chapter 1, verse 22, they said to him, "Who are you that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say of yourself?" How would you respond to that question: who are you?
Sometimes we answer the question by stating our name; other times, we state our agenda, our ethnic group, or our vocation. Other times, we answer by talking about the group we belong to or our relationship with someone else. All of those answers give an indication of parts of who we are. But who really are you? Our text is based on a question that was asked of John the Baptist. The Jews sent priests to ask him, "Who are you?" because John had been a prophet and people had gathered around him. The people were anticipating a Messiah, so they wanted to know whether John was the person they thought he would be. They asked him, "Who are you?"
It's a very important question because if you don't know who you are, people will make you into whom they want you to be. So who are you? Who are you before God, and how do you place yourself in the light of God's will? As Christians, there has to be a way for us to answer this question. If someone should ask you, "Who are you?" there has to be a way to respond. I'm going to give you three suggestions on how to answer those questions.
So, who are you? First, I am made in the image of God. I'm made in God's image. That is our first identity. Our first identity is related to God, who made us. We didn't make ourselves; we were made by God, and He didn't make us to be like our friends, our teachers, our tribe, or anything else. He made us to look like Himself. So, God wants our identity not to be related to the things we know in life but to be related to Him. He made us in His image; that's our first identity. We are who we are because God made us.
Secondly, my second identity is that I'm redeemed by faith in Christ. The image of God is general to all; all human beings are unique, created in the image of God, but not all human beings are redeemed through Christ. In the Garden of Eden, mankind fell from the image of God, and Christ came to redeem us to Himself. So, yes, God made me in His image, but in Christ, I discover my true identity because He reconnects me to God. What was lost is reclaimed in Christ Jesus. I am made in God's image, I am redeemed by faith in Christ, and third, I am an ambassador for the Lord Jesus Christ. That speaks about my mission—and your mission, too—if you're a Christian. God doesn't just redeem you; He recruits you to work with Him. Isn't it an awesome idea to be an ambassador of God—not of your government, not of your company, not of your family? God is the one who has sent you on His mission. You're redeemed by Christ, and you bear God's image. I think that's a pretty good identity and a great way to answer the question, "Who are you?"
Tomorrow, we'll ask another question and answer it. Let's share in a lot of prayer together. Say with me, "Heavenly Father, You are the source of my being. I belong to You fully. Use me for Your glory. In Jesus' name, amen and amen." What a good way to start the week! You know who you are now. I'm Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.