“At that moment I had no notion of identity. Nor of burden. I laughed in place of language.”
Peace Like a River, Leif Enger, p. 300
This quote is one of my favorite things right now. Forgetting about myself, truly having no notion of my own identity…that’s my prayer. I want to live in constant awareness of being so very small that I get completely lost in light of the Gospel–the place where self-directed concern just seems silly.
Brandon,
What's up buddy? I hope that you are well. First off I would like to say that really I appreciate all the care and concern that I have received from you in the last couple months.
I am not sure of the context of the quote you quoted, but I must say I disagree. To me, one of the most beautiful things about being human, being God's creatures, is the identity that he has given each one of us. We are each created in his image, knit together in our mother's womb, with a distinct identity, a specific purpose, a unique calling, and gifts that reflect his very character. I believe that it is when we recognize and live out our specific identity that we are closest to what God intended. I rejoice in the fact that my identity is bound up in Christ through my being united with him in his death and resurrection. I rejoice in the fact that when God looks at me he sees the blood of his son Jesus which cleanses me from all sin. I also believe that when God looks at me he delights in the individual that he has created. I love my identity; it makes me what I am, it is what God has created, and, for that reason, it is beautiful. I am scared when I hear people say that they desire to lose their identity. It sounds like the eastern idea of becoming one with God or with "being", or some mindless aquiescense into the divine essence. I do not presume that is what you meant or intended. Probably you just meant that your identity, insofar as you have ultimate control of your plans and actions, is completely surrendered to Jesus. That is beautiful; however, in an age where there is much confusion concerning identity, I believe that your quote and comment cry for clarification.
With much respect,
Reid
Wow…what a comment! Thanks for your input Reid, I do not think we really disagree…more of a semantics/viewpoint issue. The context of the quote is actually a statement made from heaven in the presence of God, that the character then had no thoughts directed toward himself. Basically what I mean is that I want to go back to the bliss of the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve had no selfish concern for themselves and their identity was only found in God(all the good stuff you said). The very first effect of the fall was that they realized they were naked. Basically, I think that revelation is an identity issue. They went from finding their identity in God to looking elsewhere for someone to tell them who they were, starting a line of misdirected, selfish concern that plagues us to this day. That is all I mean by what I said. I want to be humbly confident in my who I am in Christ and who He has made me to be, and not consumed with the selfish, sinful things that my flesh wants to find identity in. In other words, I want to use my God-given identity to serve Him and glorify Him–not selfishly bringing glory to myself because I take pride in being a good ________, whatever that thing is. Hope that makes sense, sorry if my wording was confusing! Much love,
Brandon
i just started reading that book yesterday!