In my previous article, I started by asking you the question: who are you? This week, I want you to start by asking yourself: where am I from? A great man of God once said: ‘If you try to find out where you are from by using your ethnic heritage, you will get lost’ (Dr Myles Munroe). So I am going to continue with the theme of identity as I want to show you the reason it is so important to be grounded in your identity. I believe that, by knowing the answer to both of these questions (‘who am I?’ and ‘where am I from?’), it will help us answer a very important question: why am I here? Everybody wants to know what their purpose is, their reason for being. However, reading the Bible has taught me that, without knowing who I am or where I truly come from, I can never discover purpose. One of the basic human needs is a sense of purpose.

As a child, I used to feel a little confused by people’s opinions of me. As I have mentioned before, I would often get comments like ‘You look very Hispanic, but you don’t sound like one,’ or ‘Do you feel more British or Peruvian?’ I remember asking myself a lot of questions around identity. Who am I? How should I express myself? What should be my habits? How should I speak? How should I dress? Who should I be friends with? I remember going on summer holidays to Peru and feeling as though I was in a completely different world, especially when visiting my family in the mountains. The lifestyle was different, the scenery was different, the food, the altitude, the smells, the music – all different. However, I felt as though part of me belonged there. The United Kingdom is a country I am proud to call my home, the country I grew up in, but there will always be a part of my cultural identity that doesn’t quite fit. Perhaps you have a similar feeling that different parts of your identity are stretched across multiple countries. This is why people miss their countries of origin as, it doesn’t matter how hard you may try to recreate something, you can never be the full expression of yourself.

I will give you an example from my life. I love music and I love to dance; I grew up listening to my mum’s salsa and cumbia CDs in the car on the way to school, we regularly had parties and gatherings where there would be dancing all night long and, when I was old enough, my mum would take me dancing with her. I would often want to recreate this with my friends and, although my friends would be intrigued by my music, after one or two songs, they wanted to go back to just talking or listening to songs I frankly found very dull.  (I am not saying that they were, it was just my opinion!) I was frustrated because I couldn’t be the full expression of myself. Perhaps you have a similar story, whereby you have wanted to reconnect with a part of your identity, but haven’t felt as though you could express yourself fully. I remember trying to explain to my friends the Peruvian traditions, celebrations and festivities that we have. However, I almost felt as though there was no point trying to explain as they really had to be there experiencing it first-hand to know what I was talking about. I wonder if this was the same way Jesus felt when he was trying to explain the Kingdom of God to his disciples.

Jesus is a great example of someone who was grounded in His identity. Firstly, Jesus knew who He was: ‘I am the Good Shepherd’(John 10:11). Secondly, He knew where He came from: ‘Yes, I came from the Father into this world, and now I will leave the world and return to the Father’ (John 16:28). And, lastly, Jesus certainly knew what His purpose was: ‘For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will’ (John 6:38). Jesus was grounded in His identity, heritage and purpose – three things that many of us struggle to truly understand about ourselves today, and I believe that’s why He was so effective in His ministry and was able to fulfil His purpose in only three years! Nothing else mattered to Jesus than to do what He had been called to do; He was not distracted by people’s opinions about Him, He did not seek career advice or ever have an identity crisis. He knew who He was and He walked in His purpose. Jesus sought the Kingdom of God first, before anything else. The Bible tells us how, even when He was on the cross, ‘Jesus knew that his mission was now finished (John 19:28.)’ He was literally on a mission. Meanwhile, Pontius Pilate and the leading priests were still arguing over Jesus’s identity. Pilate had put a sign above Jesus’s head saying, ‘Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews,’ and the Jewish priests wanted it changed to: ‘Jesus the Nazarene, he said he was King of the Jews.’ How pointless! Jesus knew that many wouldn’t see who He truly was until he resurrected again on the third day and proved to everyone that He truly was the Messiah, the saviour of the world. But neither people’s opinions nor His own feelings distracted Him from His purpose because He was so rooted in His identity.

If God has sent you into the world, it is because He sent you with a purpose already in mind. We need to detach ourselves from this world – the expectations, the societal labels and the opinions of others– and, like Jesus, focus on purpose.

God bless you.

Author: Laura McBride Galarza

Editor: Melissa Bond