The word identity has been appointed as word of the year, according to
dictionary.com. This decision was made after a survey concerning the number
of people who have pondered their own identity as a result of the numerous
media conversations regarding gender, sexuality and race. According to
psychology, a thorough knowledge of personal identity is essential for our
effective functioning as human beings.
There is a key moment in the Oscar award winning movie, Gladiator, when the
main character, Maximus (portrayed by actor Russel Crowe) faces the corrupt
Caesar Commodus.
In a climactic and dramatic scene he states the following: “My name is
Maximus Decimus Merdius, commander of the armies of the North, general of
the Felix legions, loyal servant to the true emperor Marcus Aurelius, father to a
murdered son, husband to a murdered wife, and I will have my vengeance in
this life or the next.”
With this statement, Maximus coveys much more than merely his name and
title. The admirable courage and heroism that surfaces throughout this movie
flows from his identity. Maximus understands who he is: He is a Roman, he
stems forth from a certain family, he is a general in the army and his loyalty lies
with the “true emperor” Marcus Aurelius. His brokenness, however, also forms
part of this identity because his child and wife have been murdered. This movie
effectively portrays the importance of understanding who you are as this
determines the behaviour and the impact that you make on people around
you.
There is, however, a problematic issue regarding identity. What if I do not stem
from a good family? What if I do not have authority or command any respect
from others like Maximus? What if brokenness is written all over my entire
life? How do I determine my identity if I am an unsuccessful in the eyes of my
fellow human beings? What if I live a life like the prophet Jeremiah?
Jeremiah slaved away for thirty years without any success. He was very young
when he started his career as a prophet of the Lord. He lived in a time of
political unrest and instability. He did not command any respect and people
looked down on him and even threw him in a pit once to silence him. The Lord warned
him in advance with regards to his status (or lack thereof) and his eminent failure:
his church would be empty every Sunday, he would not experience any work
satisfaction, no project would be successfully completed and he would have no
sense of accomplishment after a hard day’s work.
Nothing is as bad for an individual’s self-image as being a constant failure, year
after year!
God did however provide Jeremiah with the best possible manner in which to
conduct his life. He not only supplied him with a positive self-image but also a
Godly identity. At the commencement of his calling, God spoke the following
word to this prophet:
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you
apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5
In this case it is helpful to examine three prominent verbs in the original
Hebrew text.
This text literally says I KNEW you…I set you apart (sanctified you)…I gave you
(as prophet to the nations). To “be known” in the ancient time did not only
imply intellectual knowledge but explicitly implied relational knowledge. The
Lord assured Jeremiah not only that He was aware of him, but that he
possessed the love of the Almighty! To be “set apart”, or holy in this context
implied that God has separated Jeramiah and put him aside for His own use.
He chose Jeremiah for His own team! Lastly Jeremiah has been endowed as a
gift to Israel and the surrounding nations.
Jeremiah is therefore a known person: he is never alone or without God’s love.
He is also a chosen person: his life has a goal and a purpose. He is a gift: he will
never just be a consumer, because he has been loved, chosen and given by God
to serve.
Take note that Jeremiah’s identity is not built on the fact that he is a Jew, as
this would have prevented him from serving non-Jewish nations. It is also not
grounded in his political convictions nor his sosio-economic status. His identity
is grounded in God’s opinion about him…the God that knows him, chooses him
and present him as a gift. That is who he is despite everything!
The word “before” is repeated twice in the text. The words of God about this
prophet, were true before he was even formed, before he came into existence.
Jeremiah therefore has no personal share in who he is as a human being. It has
merely been bestowed on him. Jeremiah’s life has meaning and purpose, not
because he wanted to be successful but because the Lord proclaimed it to be.
The fact that he is cherished and priceless is not based on other people’s
opinion, but anchored in who God is and what He decided before Jeremiah
was born.
Young people therefore do not have to take a gap year to “find” themselves.
We have all been found already. Who are you? You are loved, sanctified and
you were created to be a gift to the world!