What Defines You?


I went back to my hometown of Macon today to offer words of hope and comfort at the funeral service of a friend.  I grew up in the same neighborhood as Beverly and we attended the same church in our formative years. The last few years had not been kind to her.  She had lost both of legs due to medical issues but that did not stop her from being an inspiration to many.  At her service today I remarked that "She did not let her condition define who she was."

This leads me to ask a question of all of us and that is "What defines you?"  For some it is a profession or occupation.  For some is a family name.  For some it is the size of a bank account.  For some it is some accomplishment.  For a few identity it might be found in one's physical appearance.  There are some that might be defined by a medical condition.

At his baptism the voice of God told Jesus that he was God's "Beloved Son."  For the Christian it is our baptism that defines us.  It is our baptism that gives us our identity as a "Beloved Child of God."  It is in that name that we find the ultimate definition of who we are.

In my life I have many roles and many titles.  One person calls me her husband, a few folks call me Dad, a few more call me Papa John, one person calls me her brother, a number of folks call me friend and several hundred folks call me pastor.  Yet, none of these roles or titles define me.  I am not defined by the conventions and views of others.  I am not even defined by what I think of myself. I am defined by the moment the waters of baptism trickled down the top of my head down the nape of my neck.  It is in the waters baptism that I truly find what defines me and I claim my identity as a Beloved Child of God.  


Comments

  1. D SharkeyJuly 25, 2019 at 4:59 PM

    Finally got a chance to read up on your post... wisdom and wit focused on The Word... big fan; keep it going John Brown

    ReplyDelete

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