Who do You say I am?

So, to be honest. I’ve been sitting on this blog post for a while.
 
I started typing it out weeks ago, but didn’t have the guts to actually pull the trigger and just post it.
 
It’s not the happy bubbly silly story or our latest greatest trip that I usually blog about. (even if it has been over a YEAR since I did either of those!! Oops.) This one is a lot more personal and instead of sharing about my wild adventures, I’m sharing about Someone who has wildly changed my life.
 
A little backstory to this is that while yes, I’m an artist and love to adventure and have an awesome husband, I also love Jesus. Like a whole lot! Like more than anything previously listed! I hang out with Him quite a bit and He speaks to me in all sorts of ways and He tells me the most incredible things. Including what I’m about to share, which is why I can’t NOT share it.
 
So here ya go.
 
In the book of Matthew, Jesus is doing all kinds of miracles, teaching to the masses and calling out all His haters. And in chapter 16 (starting at vs. 13) He has a little chat with His disciples, and it goes like this:
 
MATTHEW 16:13-16
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
 
Now, this wasn’t the first time I’d read these verses, and maybe it wasn’t your first time either. But a few weeks ago, this little snippet of Scripture completely wrecked me. 
 
When Jesus asks, “Who do you say I am?” I can easily rattle off a whole list of appropriate answers: Christ, Messiah, Son of the Living God (per Peter’s response) Lord of my life, teacher, friend, shepherd, comforter, Savior, King of kings, provider, protector, healer and on and on and on.
 
While I was writing out this long list of who Jesus is to me, Jesus flipped the question on its head and told ME to ask HIM:
 
“Jesus, who do YOU say I AM?”
 
As I listened, the tears started to flow.
 
Chosen.
Loved.
Worthy.
Treasured.
Beautiful.
Strong.
Kind.
Generous.
Full of Grace.
Known.
Seen.
Wise.
Discerning.
Compassionate.
Driven.
Obedient.
Humble.
Special.
Uniquely gifted.
Clever.
Creative.
Light.
Free.
Full of Joy.
Beloved.
Child of God.
 
That’s who I really am!
I am who JESUS says that I am,
Not what other people think of me.
Not even what I tell myself I am.
And THAT is all that matters!
 
The end.
 
So often I find myself in comparison mode, or in judgement, or doubting myself and what God created me to do. We walk through life spending precious time and energy searching for our identity and trying to figure out or to prove (to others or ourselves) who we truly are. There are hundreds of books and studies on self-discovery and the latest greatest personality test coming out to figure us out. Enneagram, Meyers-Briggs, CORE. DISC. ETC. ETC…. (to name a few!) And while these may be good tools to learn more about ourselves, they do not solely define who we REALLY are.
 
So let me ask, who are you?
 
You’re not just a resume.
Or a list of accomplishments.
Or a list of failures.
There’s a lot more to you than what’s on your ‘About Me’ page of your website. And your Instagram, and Facebook and Linkedin profile.
You might be introverted, or extroverted.
You might be an INFJ or LMNOP, an Enneagram 7 or 4 or 912.
You might introduce yourself as stay at home mom or a CEO or a farmer, or a pastor.
You might have 7 different pieces of paper on your office wall proving your academic achievement or have half the alphabet of letters behind your name.
You might have dropped out of college. Twice (yep, this girl did!)
You might have built your business from the ground up.
You might be struggling to pay the bills or keep your head a float.
You might have thousands of people following you on social media. Or zero because you don’t even have social media.
You might be a single mom, or a new dad or a husband, wife, fiancé, single, divorced.
You might have done some things you regret, said some things you’re not proud of.
 
You might be an artist.
A basketball coach.
A surfer, paddler, hiker and adventure lover.
A wife, a work-from-home business owner.
 
While any and all of these might be true. Good, bad or otherwise.
They don’t define you.
They don’t disqualify you.
They don’t trump the fact that you are a Child of God, a Son or Daughter of God.
And you are SO loved! Completely and entirely. Just as you are.
 
And at the end of the day, at the end of this life: THAT’s what really matters. And THAT’s it!
 
So, if you wanna learn more about who you really are…
 
Try spending some time scrolling the pages of Scripture rather than scrolling your Facebook. Or Instagram. Or whatever empty habit that eats at your soul and makes you doubt, compare, feel left out or less than.
 
Try listen to the Voice of Truth, rather than the voices of the broken world around you.
 
Try quiet your own mind long enough to shut up all the negative things you tell yourself when you look in the mirror, when you let yourself down or when you feel like you failed. Again. And rather, tune into Jesus.
 
Try ask Him, “Who do YOU say that I am?” and listen.
 
It might just change your life.