Thursday, March 18, 2010
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
For Further Study Read about 10 perspectives that should form our attitudes and actions as followers of Jesus in Kingdom Living at www.discoveryseries.org/hp092
If you are a follower of Jesus, that’s all the identity you need.
你是谁？
「来，跟从我！我要叫你们得人如得鱼一样。」（马太福音4章19节）如果有人问：「你是谁？」我猜你会简单介绍自己是做什么的：「我是一个水电工。」或「我是一名护士。」但是那并不是真正的你，那只是说明你的工作。如果你的工作代表你自己，当你不做这份工作时，你又该是谁呢？
只有从你和耶稣之间的关系之中，才能反映出你是谁。这种身分的认知将主导你的行动。以马太为例，他在罗马帝国统治时期担任税吏，他的生活是受贪心的辖制。但是当耶稣出现并邀请马太跟随祂时，一切都发生了改变（马太福音9章9节）。突然间，马太有了全新的身分，他成了基督的跟随者！而且，类似的情况不只是发生在他一个人的身上。我们在马太福音4章18-25节中也读到，那四名渔夫：彼得、安德烈、雅各和约翰，撇下渔网跟随了耶稣。
耶稣是那位令人信服的主，如今祂仍然在寻找跟随者。祂给予你耶稣跟随者的身分，并赋予你生活的新意义。这不是意味你要放弃职业，而是意味着，你一生都要根据耶稣的旨意去做你的工作，按祂的心意而活。
所以下次有人问你：「你是谁？」我希望你会回答：「我是耶稣的跟随者！」JS
助我每日勤学习，
凭着信心跟随祢；
平生最大的愿望，
一心讨得主欢喜。 Fitzhugh
你只需一个身分，就是耶稣的跟随者。
