02/06/09- ID REQUIRED
Nothing is more frightening than showing up at your packed flight, hands full, and the request is made, "Sir, may I see your ID?"  

The chaos begins...you look everywhere as beads of sweat begin to form on your forehead.  Where is it...where could it be?

Ever been there?  What an awful feeling!

I think most young people have that feeling as they attempt to answer the question..."WHO AM I?"  For most, they're left sifting through their full lives constructing and manufacturing an answer for this vital question.

I think some answer it by finding out who they're NOT!  That's the reason some are a jock their freshman year, a goth their sophomore, an emo their junior, and a scholar their senior...trying to find out WHO YOU ARE for some means crossing out who you're NOT!

For others, their response to this question is followed by a laundry list of what someone does, or what they have!  For so many, their ID lies in the acceptance of a college, the starting spot on a varsity team, their last name, or the latest pair of designer jeans.

So how do you nail down the answer to this age old question?   In order to construct an answer, you must go to the one who knows you better than anyone.  The one who created you has designed an answer that may not be what you expect.  Instead of answering this question in action form...you are a poet, doctor, etc...he responds to you the way He, God, responded to His Son, Jesus.

After the baptism of Jesus by John in Matthew 3:17, God utters words spoken to Jesus that, if you listen can still be heard by YOU every day of your life...
"This is my Son, whom I love, with Him I am well pleased!"

In one sentence, God gives His Son Jesus the very answer to this ID question:
IDENTITY - "This is my son..."
APPROVAL - "Whom I love..."
AFFIRMATION - "With Him I am well pleased."

What if you and I decide to be defined and attached to the one who authors IDENTITY, APPROVAL, and AFFIRMATION...the very ingredients we long for and search for in things, titles, and relationships...what would life be like?  Imagine how free you'd be?