Identity crisis
Carpet bombs, atheist pastors, and Jesus
If I claim to be something or someone, does that mean I am in fact the thing or person I claim to be? If so, if I claim to be Superman, am I actually Superman because I simply claimed to be so? Or, does my claim have to be substantiated in some way? If proof isn’t required, I can pretty much claim to be anything or anyone I want. Well, I pick Superman!
Ridiculous you say? Well, yes and no. From one vantage point I would say yes, the whole idea is rather ridiculous. Yet, from another perspective, it isn’t. Why? Because we all at one time or another claimed to be something or someone we were not. In fact, it happens more often than we care to admit.
When a child claims to be a superhero, we call it cute. However, when that same person turns 35 and continues to believe they’re a superhero, it raises serious red flags.
Why? Because as adults we’ve come to understand that claiming to be something or someone doesn’t actually mean we are the thing or person we claim to be. If a person claims to be someone or something they’re not, we don’t agree and move on as though they’re right.
So, if I claim to be Superman when I’m clearly not Superman, am I still Superman? Even if all the evidence is against me? Probably not. Who or what I think I am, in order for it to be true, requires evidence.
I can claim to be the Prime Minister of Canada all day long, but that doesn’t mean I am. The claim requires evidence. I can claim to be a medical doctor, but that doesn’t mean I am. The claim requires evidence. Likewise, I can claim to be a Christian, but that doesn’t mean I am. The claim requires evidence.
The proof is in the pudding
My primary thesis is this: we can only identify with and be identified by what actually defines us. And, it is impossible to identify with something and not be defined by it at the same time. Therefore, we are not what we think we are, but what we actually are. Who we are is what we are.
As it relates to Christianity, the Church has always believed that Jesus lies at the center of its life and witness. He is the Head of the Church and those who follow him make up his body. As a result, if what I believe and how I live does not look and sound like Jesus the Head, the One I’m claiming to follow and am connected to, I need to spend time reflecting on how I define identity.
Identity flows out of what and who defines us. Our identity is a reflection of the thing or person we identify with. The values and ethos of the thing we claim to identify with must shape and define us if the claim is to hold any weight.
To be a Christian is tested by how closely the whole of my life looks and sounds like Jesus. Click To TweetMy claim to be something is tested by how closely aligned I am to the thing I claim to be. To be a Christian, therefore, is tested by how closely the whole of my life looks and sounds like Jesus. In this way, my activity discloses my identity. And, if my ideas and actions do not coincide with the ideas and actions of Jesus, the one I claim to follow, I need to pause and ponder if I am in fact following him at all.
Carpet bombs, atheist pastors, and Jesus
Aligning myself with a particular religious brand does not automatically make me a member of that brand. Again, activity defines our identity. Until my life as a Christian reveals an ongoing and active correspondence between my identity and activity, I cannot claim to identify with Jesus at all.
I cannot claim allegiance to Jesus until his life, death, and resurrection, shape my life in an ever-increasing way. Click To TweetWe are defined by what we do. And, I cannot claim allegiance to Jesus until his life, teachings, ethos, values, death, and resurrection, shape my own life in an ever-increasing way.
Let me put it like this – agreeing to carpet bomb our so-called enemies (link) while at the same time claiming to be a follower of Jesus Christ, who actively taught and demonstrated love of enemies (“Father, forgive them.”), reveals a serious dichotomy between my self-proclaimed identity as a Christ-follower and my activity.
Let me put it like this – insisting on maintaining leadership in the body of Christ, the Church, while simultaneously maintaining God’s non-existence (link) which includes Jesus' self-proclaimed identity as the embodiment of Israel's God, reveals a serious dichotomy between what I claim to be and what I am. Activity reveals identity.
We cannot claim to be something if we do not reflect the thing we claim to be. Click To TweetWe cannot claim to be something if we do not reflect the thing we claim to be. We can only claim to be following Jesus (which is what the word Christian actually means – “little Christ"), if we are actually following Jesus. That is, if his life, teachings, witness, example, death, resurrection, and ascension are the central things that define our activity, which in turn reveals our identity.
Function follows form
Function flows out of form. Who I am is defined by and revealed by what I do. Jesus said it this way, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46).
“If Jesus is truly Lord, he has the right to tell us how to live.” @bruxy Click To TweetHis followers are called to hear Jesus’ words and do what he says, if we want to be identified as his followers. Belief and action reveal identity. As Bruxy Cavey once said, “If Jesus is truly Lord, he has the right to tell us how to live.” Hearing and obeying go hand in hand.
Identity recalibration
If I claim to be something or someone, does that mean I am in fact the thing or person I claim to be? No, it doesn’t. Our claims require evidence if they are to be believed and maintained.
If I claim to be following Jesus, that I am a student and apprentice of Jesus, my beliefs and life must be an ongoing testimony to that end. What I believe about God and the world and how I live out those beliefs within the world will showcase to the world that I am in fact following Jesus.
If I claim to be following Jesus and what I believe and how I live does not correspond to his teachings and witness, my claims are worthless. "Why do you call me Lord?"
My identity as a Christ-follower flows out of and is defined by my activity, which is primarily informed and shaped by the One I claim to follow. And, I cannot claim to follow Jesus if my beliefs and life do not look and sound like Jesus. Activity reveals identity.
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