A while back, J.B. Shurk had an interesting item where he discussed a five-point plan to achieve “a sense of peace” in this life.  It’s worth the read.  I was enamored of the title, “And Who Are You?”

This — Hanukkah and Christmas — is a particularly cogent time of year to consider this question, since it grapples with issues that almost inevitably turn spiritual.  That’s helpful, since we may drift away from what matters most, and thinking about the spiritual can put us back on the right road.

So who are you?  This question arose in a comical way in Acts 19:13.  “Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon possessed. ... One day the evil spirit answered them. ‘Jesus I know and Paul I know about, but who are you?’”  We’re not told how the Jews answered.

Commonly, we think of ourselves in terms of what we do.  Welder.  Writer.  Teacher.  But those are attributes we develop as we go.  Similar are the roles we fill along the way.  Father.  Aunt.  These stations accrue as we move through life, but only superficially do they answer who we are.

I submit that we are our beliefs, which inform our actions, which become the attributes and roles (the adjectives, you might say) that limn our lives.  Together these form our relationship with God.  Beliefs x Actions = Relationship with God.  BA=R.  All nice and mathematical-looking.

Developing your relationship with God is the most important thing you can do and the ultimate answer to who you are.  Everything you attribute to yourself — looks, talents, smarts, developed abilities, beliefs, all of it — began with God.  It was you who did something with it, and for that you deserve credit, but at the most fundamental level, you are your relationship with God.

Image: Marco Verch Professional Photographer and Speaker via Flickr, CC BY 2.0.