Are you a man, woman, leader, public servant, elder, deacon, preacher’s wife, wife of a millionaire, artist, tennis player, pianist, father, mother, sister, brother? How do you identify?
A favorite question when first meeting someone is, “What do you do for a living?” We tend to define a person based on his or her vocation. Bill is a mechanic. Sue is a dentist. Phil is jobless.
What do you think the apostle Paul’s answer to the question, “Tell me a little about yourself,” would be? It would run something like:
I am a “servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God.” (Rom. 1.1)
Paul’s first identity was always Christ and God. He defined his life by his relationship with Jesus. He was a slave of Christ before he was called to be an apostle. His relationship in the Lord came even before his God-ordained ministry.
He would never have said, “I am a tent maker, and also a Christian,” or “I am a Hebrew of Hebrews, of the school of Gamaliel, and also a Christian.” No—Christ held first place and encompassed everything else in Paul’s life.
Paul was a Christian…and also a tent maker. He was a slave of Jesus Christ…and also graduated from Gamaliel’s school.
Who am I?
I am a Christian…and also a father, son, husband, manager, martial arts enthusiast, writer, editor, etc. I could lose all of those other relationships and enjoyments and skills, but I shall always remain a slave of Jesus Christ. He gives me my identity, and no one can take me out of His hand.
All other identities must be secondary to our identity in Christ. Jesus said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14.26) This is what it means to hate your life—not that you trash it and degrade yourself—but that Christ reigns supreme over all aspects of your life. It’s no longer you, but Christ that lives in you.
So. Who are you?