\u201cWho am I?\u201d<\/p>\n
Many people spend years trying to answer that question.<\/p>\n
We Americans in particular spend time and energy trying to discover ourselves. So we take personality tests and, in evangelical circles, spiritual gift inventories. We want to know who we are.<\/p>\n
At the beginning of Exodus 3, Moses thinks he has answered that question. He had an extraordinary childhood:<\/p>\n
As a young man, he rightly identifies himself with God\u2019s people rather than with the Egyptians. He turns his back on riches and power. He seems to have seen himself as the logical vessel through whom God would rescue His people from Egypt.<\/p>\n
But then Moses acts in his own power, not God\u2019s. Thinking he is the key actor in this drama, he kills an Egyptian who is beating a Hebrew. His own people reject him as leader (Exodus 2:11-14). So the highly-educated and talented Moses leaves Egypt, and becomes a shepherd out in the sticks. He stays there for forty years.<\/p>\n
Initially Moses seems to miss Egypt; he gives his first son a name that laments his exile. But over time that lamentation turns to contentment. Moses hadn\u2019t taken a Myers-Briggs test or a spiritual gift inventory, but after all these decades, he has decided who he is. \u201cWho am I? A shepherd. Nothing more.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then one day Moses sees a bush burning, but not consumed by the fire. As Moses approaches, God speaks to him: \u201cGo! I\u2019m sending you to Pharaoh! Bring my people out of Egypt!\u201d<\/p>\n
Moses is flabbergasted. God challenges his self-assessment. Who is he?<\/p>\n
So he asks:<\/p>\n
\u201dWho am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?\u201d (Exodus 3:11)<\/p>\n
God answers in two ways \u2013 two ways that are absolutely key for Moses as well as for us.<\/p>\n
The first answer is in Exodus 3:12:<\/p>\n
God\u2019s first answer: Surely I will be with you. <\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
God is saying: \u201cWhat matters is not<\/i> your personality, your experience, your education, or your preparation. What matters is that I am with you! <\/i>What defines you is that I work through you!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
Do you see? This is why Moses failed before! He was in the prime of life, well-connected, energetic, mighty in speech. And he blew it. He blew it because God was not with him in the actions he took.<\/p>\n
For all of us: This is the most important aspect of who we are. Not our personalities. Not our education or life experiences. Not our family or ethnic backgrounds.<\/p>\n
Instead: Is God with you? Are you stepping out in God\u2019s power for His glory? As you seek to help others \u2013 are you leaning on Him? Depending on Him? Trusting Him?<\/p>\n
Moses tells God: \u201cWho am I? I\u2019m inadequate for this task.\u201d God tells him: \u201cYes, you are – by yourself. You proved that 40 years ago. But you\u2019re the one that I am with! And if I\u2019m with you \u2013 my grace is sufficient for you. For my power is made perfect in your weakness.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now look at the rest of Exodus 3:12:<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”<\/p>\n
God\u2019s second answer: You shall worship God<\/b><\/p>\n
Many commentators struggle over this sentence. We normally think of a \u201csign\u201d in such a context as something that encourages us, something that shows us we\u2019re able to complete a task, or something that gives us direction in a task.<\/p>\n
But Moses thinks he is inadequate for bringing the Israelites out of Egypt. How does the fact that they will worship God after <\/i>they are already out of Egypt help or guide Moses now?<\/p>\n
This is a key point. God is here answering not only the question: Who is Moses. He\u2019s also answering the question: Who are the people of Israel? His answer is: \u201cYou all are the ones who may worship Me. This defines you. This is who you are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Remember, God is holy. Left to ourselves, we are repugnant to him. Defiled. Unholy. Stained. In this state, we cannot approach Him to worship Him \u2013 except on His terms. He \u2013 and only He \u2013 can tell us how we may worship and who may worship.<\/p>\n
So understand: Who we are is a result of our relationship to Him. That is: Our identity is defined by this relationship to God.<\/p>\n
So as Moses showed us through his earlier failure, we will do nothing for God apart from His working in us. Indeed, we have nothing to offer others. We are inadequate. But if He is with us \u2013 we can offer everything pertaining to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). Indeed, God has promised to work in us and through us to bring about the filling of the earth with the knowledge of His glory. God has promised to bring about worship<\/i> through us.<\/p>\n
So, ask yourself: \u201cWho am I?\u201d<\/p>\n
Scripture tells us: \u201cI am by nature an object of God\u2019s wrath. I am a rebel against my rightful King\u2019s purpose for me. \u00a0I am one who will not submit to God. I am one who wants to be <\/i>god of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
But through Jesus\u2019 sacrifice on the cross, we rebels, like Moses, can have a new identity. We can be forgiven. We can become children of God. We can become ambassadors of God, God making His appeal through us. We can become worshipers.<\/p>\n
Therefore: \u201cWho am I?\u201d<\/p>\n
May we all be able to say truly:<\/p>\n
\u201cI am the one whom God is with.\u00a0 And I am the one who worships God.\u201d<\/p>\n