"Some recent studies show that as many as 80% of people in the workforce don’t enjoy their work and nearly 75% don’t know their passion. This is not a coincidence." – TheOneQuestion.com
We have an identity crisis on our hands.
While walking through the forest one day, a man found a young eagle who had fallen out of his nest. He took it home and put it in his barnyard where it soon learned to eat and behave like the chickens. One day a naturalist passed by the farm and asked why it was that the king of all birds should be confined to live in the barnyard with the chickens. The farmer replied that since he had given it chicken feed and trained it to be a chicken, it had never learned to fly. Since it now behaved as the chickens, it was no longer an eagle.
"Still it has the heart of an eagle," replied the naturalist, "and can surely be taught to fly." He lifted the eagle toward the sky and said, "You belong to the sky and not to the earth. Stretch forth your wings and fly." The eagle, however, was confused. He did not know who he was, and seeing the chickens eating their food, he jumped down to be with them again. The naturalist took the bird to the roof of the house and urged him again, saying, "You are an eagle. Stretch forth your wings and fly." But the eagle was afraid of his unknown self and world and jumped down once more for the chicken food. Finally the naturalist took the eagle out of the barnyard to a high mountain. There he held the king of the birds high above him and encouraged him again, saying, " You are an eagle. You belong to the sky. Stretch forth your wings and fly." The eagle looked around, then up to the sky. And the naturalist lifted him straight towards the sun and it happened that the eagle began to tremble. Slowly he stretched his wings, and with a triumphant cry, soared away.
For many people life is a lot like that story, only they never stretch out their wings and attempt to fly.
They spend their lives living the life of chickens when they could be living the life of an eagle. That is what we are going to be talking about for the next few weeks in a new series called “Who am I?”
We all dream of that life up in the clouds, soaring with freedom and power, but all to often we stay in the barnyard picking at chicken feed. We all can relate to this and today we begin with the first key to unlocking the life we have always wanted, the fulfilled life like that of an eagle.
The first thing we must find is who we are… Who am I? Where do I fit in life? Am I valuable? These are all identity questions that must be answered.
The eagle from the story was not a common chicken, but he did not know this until someone came along and showed him who he really was. And that is my goal today, I want to be like that naturalist that came along and noticed that the eagle was unaware of his true identity. I want to show you your true identity, and help you unlock the first key to discovering “Who am I.”
The search for ones identity is a task we all have gone through and for most of us are still going through. It is tough to find out who the real me is?
“Today we see millions desperately searching for their own shadows, devouring movies, plays, novels, and self-help books… that promise to help them locate their missing identities. In the United States, the manifestations of personality crisis are bizarre. Its victims hurl themselves into group therapy, mysticism, or sexual games. They itch for change but are terrified by it. They urgently wish to leave their present existence and leap somehow to a new life – to become what they are not.” – Alvin Toffler (writer in NYC now 84 yrs. old & former editor of Fortune Mag)
We try to find our identity in many places, and many of those places are destructive. Some girls crave love and attention so much that they settle for anything that even resembles it, mainly from guys looking for only one thing. Some guys crave status and respect and when they cannot find it they are fooled by its illusion in pornography and casual sex. Lonely people longing for approval fall into the world of drugs and alcohol, And insecure people strive to get to the top, only to find their identity lost when they finished second. In each case, people are looking for the fulfilled life, that life like the eagle, and instead they wind up more confused as to who they are, and where they fit into the world. We have all felt the sting of insignificance, and left wondering if life is even worth it. So where can we find the answers to who am I, and where do I belong, and am I even important to anyone. You might be surprised at the answer… Jesus Christ made a statement once 2,000 years ago that might blow your idea of Christianity out of the water.
John 10:10 “I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance.”
Most people have this idea in their head that Christianity is a bunch of rules and don’t do this, and don’t do that’s. But true followers of Christ know that this could not be further from the truth! Jesus said I came that they might ENJOY life, he is saying, “God, my Father has sent me to this earth to show you how to have a good time in life.” Not only does he say that he came so that we might enjoy life, but he came so that we could have it in abundance.
The NIV version of the Bible says so that they might have life, and have it to the full. No matter how many people you sleep with, and no matter how many lines of cocaine you take, or any amount of trophies and fame you will obtain will ever give you the full life, life that is in abundance. I am talking about life that is fun, fulfilling, and free, and Jesus Christ came so that we can have that life. He is the key to not only finding my identity, but also to finding this “Abundant Life.” So what does Jesus Christ do for my identity? How does a guy who lived back in the first century help me find myself in the 21st century? That is what I would like to spend the rest of our time answering.
Understand....
I am forgiven and free
Jesus Christ came to earth as a human being like you and me, and did what no other human has done, he lived a perfect life, a life that allowed him the right to be with God. But instead look at what happened:
2 Corinthians 5:21 “For our sake he made him to be sin (Jesus) who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” NRSV
Jesus switched roles with us, when he died on the cross he died that spiritual and physical death that we had coming to us. Now instead of a do not pass go, do not collect $200 dollars go directly to jail card, we now have a get out of jail free card. We have been forgiven for our sins because of Jesus Christ! The Bible says “your sins are forgiven on account of his name.”
Colossians 2:13 – 14 “God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands.” NRSV
But it does not end there, for God did not leave Jesus dead, he raised him from the grave of our sins giving us FREEDOM from sin and FREEDOM from guilt, shame, and worthlessness. Because we are no longer held back by our sins we can dance in freedom, true freedom that can only come from God. We don’t have to stay bogged down in destructive things like drugs, and pornography all the while looking for our identity, We can hold our heads high and soak up the freedom that comes when we realize that our identity is in Jesus and his forgiveness.
2 Corinthians 3:17 “The Lord is the Spirit who gives them life, and where he is there is freedom.”
The next thing Jesus does for our identity is we can say:
I am valuable
There was a wealthy man and his son once who loved to collect rare art works. In their collection they had everything from Picasso to Raphael. They loved to sit and look at the paintings and talk. When the Vietnam conflict broke out the young man was drafted and went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle rescuing another solider. The father was notified and grieved deeply. About a month later, right before Christmas there was a knock on the door. A young man stood outside the door with a large package in his hands. He said to the father, “I am the man your son died to save, he saved many lives that day. He often talked about you though and how you and him loved fine art.” The father unwrapped the package and it was a painting of his son done by the man. “I am not a great artist, but I want you to have this.” The man said as he walked away. The father was amazed by the portrait of the son and hung it over his mantle and every time a person came to the house he showed them this painting first. The man died a few months later and a great action was organized to sell the fine works of art in the collection. Many influential people attended. On the platform on the day of the auction was the portrait of the son, and the auctioneer cried out, “Who will bid on the son?” The room was silent… no one wanted this picture and soon the people shouted for the famous pictures they came for. The auctioneer persisted though, “Who will bid on the son.” Finally a voice in the back spoke up and said, “I will give $10 for it.” It was the family gardener and he did not have much money. The auctioneer said, “I have 10 who will give me 20…” The people were furious by this point and shouted for the famous paintings. “Going once, going twice, sold to the man in the back for $10.” The auctioneer now placed down his gavel and stepped down saying the auction was over. The people shouted “What is the meaning of this?” The auctioneer stated that due to a secret stipulation in the will the person that bought the son was to receive the entire collection as well.
You see Jesus is a million times more precious to God than this man’s picture of his son, but he was willing to give it all away for you and me. He was willing to sacrifice his only son so that we might be forgiven and free.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” NRSV
Imagine that… we were valuable enough to God for him to put his Son through humiliation, torment, pain, heartbreak and death for you and me. The God of the entire universe, the one who created the earth and the stars, loves us. We are like the same people surrounding the cross who spit in his face and rejected his kindness only to have him chase after us with a love that is so powerful you cannot chose to do anything but accept it when it hits you. So many times in our society we are told, especially when we are young that we are expendable, we are worthless and meaningless. But God says I love you enough to give up my only son for you. That makes us extremely valuable!!!
I have to mention one last thing. Remember the story of the art collector and the gardener who bid on the son and got it all… this “Abundant Life” is kind of like that in this way. Whoever gets the Son gets it all, whoever gets Jesus, God’s Son, gets it all.
“The pathway [to identity] is to follow in the footsteps of the Master” - John Whelan
“When you know who you are, you
know what you are to do,”
“When you know who you are, you
know in what direction you walk;
you know the mission God
has called you to”
For more on this and others in the "Who Am I?" series go to:
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