EXISTENTIAL, ESOTERIC, ETERNAL

“Just who do you think you are?” I was eleven years old when my sixth grade teacher asked that question. I had evidently used poor judgement by accepting an invitation to do some filing in the office of my beloved principal, Miss Rose Miller, who looked like a bull dog and had the heart of a saint. Let me tell you, I thought about that question over many years since my teacher first asked it. I wanted to have an answer ready in case I was ever quizzed again.

As a Christian, “Who do you think you are?” is not an existential question. Obviously, I knew that I existed and was totally responsible for my own acts - the main tenant of existentialism. But I’m so much more than that. God has given us free choice, not man, and our existence is not limited to whom we are on this earth. It should also not be an esoteric question, hidden concepts that are intended for and understood by only a few. Knowing who you are is offered to all those who live. My identity is linked at the heart to God and is therefore Eternal. Many years ago, I developed an answer for my sixth grade teacher, Mrs. Haas.

I am a child of the living Father God, inheritor of all he has for his children through the blood of his son Jesus Christ. I am wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, granddaughter, sister, and friend. My place in the family of God is not limited to a few nor is it veiled in geek lingo understood only by those who have mastered the secret vocabulary. No, I am a child of the King and so are you. Just accept it and believe it. And, yes, acceptance precedes a growing belief. More is revealed, raising faith like yeast in bread, to those who accept him. Let us pray:

“Father God, my Abba, my Daddy, holy is your name. I pray that your kingdom may come to dwell within me making you King of my life, so that your will may be done there. I accept the gift of salvation paid for by your son, my Savior Jesus Christ. Today, I ask for your love to so fill and surround me that I may know that I am yours. If anyone should ask, I pray that I can readily say, “I am a child of the King through the blood of his son Jesus Christ.” Yes, Father, I am yours. May I reveal Christ wherever I go so that others may be drawn to you. I give you all the praise and glory. In the name of your son Jesus Christ, and by his power, I pray. Amen”
Doris
“Copyright 2009 Doris Gaines Rapp, Ph.D.
“God gives us stories that testify to his love. Let me tell you mine.”