Who Are You?
Read: Matthew 9:9-12
Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men. —Matthew 4:19
If someone were to ask, “Who are you?” my guess is
that you would tell a little about yourself and what you
do—“I’m an electrician” or “I’m a nurse.” But that’s not
really who you are—it’s what you do. Which leads to
the question, If what you do is who you are, who will
you be when you stop doing what you’re doing?!
Who you are is found in your relationship to Jesus.
And this sense of identity will drive your behavior.
Take Matthew, for example. As a tax collector during
the reign of the Roman Empire, his life was driven by
greed. But everything changed the day Jesus showed
up and invited Matthew to follow Him (Matt. 9:9).
Suddenly Matthew had a whole new identity as a
follower of Christ! And he wasn’t the only one. We also
read about four fishermen in Matthew 4:18-25, Peter,
Andrew, James, and John, who left their nets to follow
Him.
Jesus is a compelling Person, and He is still looking for
followers. He wants to make something of your life by
giving you the identity of a follower of Jesus. It
doesn’t mean giving up your career, but it does mean
that you will do your work—and all of life—according
to His will and ways.
So next time someone asks, “Who are you?” I hope
you’ll answer, “I’m a follower of Jesus”! — Joe Stowell
One day when we face Jesus
Upon His Holy throne of grace
We’ll humble and kneel to our King
And he’ll recognize us with our ways
If you are a follower of Jesus
That’s all the identity you need
Matthew 9:9-12 (NKJV)
9 As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named
Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow
Me.” So he arose and followed Him.
10 Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that
behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down
with Him and His disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw it,
they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax
collectors and sinners?”
12 When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are
well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 But
go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not
sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners,
to repentance.”
