“The Who” (yeah, “The Who” from way back when) had a song with these great lyrics, “Who are you? Who, who, who, who? Oh, I really want to know. . . . Who are you? Who, who, who, who?” (I always liked the “who, who, who, who” part).” Now, I used to think that was an easy question to answer. I don’t know much, but at least, I knew who I was. I’m me. But now, I’m not so sure. Some want to say I am just chemicals operating in a Dane head. Some want to say I am a pleasure-seeking animal. Some want to say I am a rational mind (that can’t be right). And others want to say I am a predictable product of outside forces. So, who am I? Am I the product of my choices (did I create me?) or am I the product of my family choice’s (did they make me?) or am I the product of my culture (did America make me?) or am I the product of a corporation (did Apple make me?)? All I know, a long time ago I was sure, and I liked “The Who”; but now, I am not so sure about either. But Paul says something incredible in Romans 12. He calls us to be shaped by God’s grace, to have our identity rooted in God’s love. But there’s another alternative, one that I fear I have downplayed for many, many years. I could also be being shaped by the world in both conscious and unconscious ways.
So, here’s my question to you: Who are you (who, who, who, who)? That’s the question that we will be looking at for the next month or so, along with another question, how can we be reshaped, from top to bottom by God’s love and grace?
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