| The Question of Identity
Closely following the question "Where did I come from?" is the question "Who exactly am I?" There are four areas to consider: relationships, personality, imperfection and limitations. Relationships How does an individual fit into the mass of people at large? Which is significant, the individual or the marriage, the community, the society? With cultural imbalances and philosophical extremes, is there a basis for individuals and relationships? From the Genesis text, we find that God created humanity in His own image (Gen 1:26). Our identity is found in Him. We no longer seek self image but God's image. God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit exist in a relationship. We were created to be individuals in relationships. The most basic relationships shape society as a whole. Personality Personality is defined as mind, will and emotions. Is there a basis for personality if the universe originated by chance? In an impersonal universe, identity reduces from personal to chemical-physical. Christianity, however, recognizes a second aspect of God's image. God has mind, will (Jer 10:12) and emotions (Isa 54:8, Lk 15:8-10) and He made humanity like Himself. The most popular normative psychology model in the world is evidence of humanity's personality. On a personal level, we each have unique personalities. Psalm 139:13-16 speaks of God's work in every individual. He has had His hand in the makeup of our unique personalities. Imperfect Imperfection may be generally defined as the evil element of human nature. This is distinguished from being finite or limited in capability. Are people truly imperfect having both good and evil sides to their character? Love and hate, war and peace, murder and passion all evidence imperfection. But how could a perfect God (Ps 89:14, Mt 5:48) create imperfect men and women? People were permitted by God to change themselves (Act 14:16). This "fall from perfection" dramatically affected both our personality and relationships. At the center of our imperfection is a broken relationship with God which needs repair. Finite Finiteness may be defined as limitations in capability. Do people have limitations which restrict their ultimate development? There are some worldviews that see people like god with no limitations and other fatalistic views that see limits in every dimension of life. Medicine and genetic engineering seek to extend life and human capabilities. But can human limitations ever be truly removed? Christianity sees God as infinite in every respect and humanity limited in every respect. There is a bold line between the Uncreated and the created. Birth, death, physical and mental capacity and handicaps all evidence our limitations. But Christianity also gives us hope in every aspect for our limitations. While we are finite, we typically live well beneath our limitations. While we limited in all dimensions, our greatest limitation is often ourselves. Conclusion The question of who we are
has many dimensions along with many dead end perspectives. Christianity
puts human identity together in proportions
and boundaries that fit. Who we are is ultimately based on who
God is.
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