While Pastor Kathy was leading the Communion mediation, numerous times she asked the question, “Who are you?” The odd thing is, every time she asked the question, she was looking directly at me. I was starting to get a little paranoid and leaned toward my friend Angie and whispered, “Why does she keep looking at me?”
She replied, “I don’t know, but I was wondering the same thing?”
The first time Pastor Kathy asked the question I thought to myself, well I’m Joe Conklin’s daughter. A phrase I have proudly said all of my life. Other thoughts included: Jim Rodman’s wife, Matt and Ryan’s mom, Bill’s sister, author, grandma, friend. All the while I was missing the entire point. What Pastor Kathy was trying to get each of us to understand is who does Christ say we are.
So now I am asking you, “Who are you?” Did you reply as I did or did you think of ways to describe yourself as how God sees you? A child of the King. God’s Chosen. Daughter. Precious. Beautiful. Blessed. Believer. Beloved. Humble Servant. Disciple.
In speaking with Pastor Kathy later, I found out that she wasn’t looking directly at me or even my direction intentionally. Obviously, God was trying to get me to truly understand the message at hand. As a result, my thoughts on this question did not end that evening. I pondered “Who are you?” as I drifted off to sleep. I thought about it when I awoke. During my morning walk and as the day progressed. I began to contemplate on scriptures and search for more scriptures which truly described who I was as God sees me.
“Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; Now you have received God’s mercy.”1 Peter 2:10
“Jesus said to the people who believed in him, ‘You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings.’” John 8:31
“Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time.” Ecclesiastes 3:11a
“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.” James 4:10
“Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words!” 2 Corinthians 9:15
“Have compassion on me according to your great and unfailing love.” Nehemiah 13:22b
So, after much time and thought, I came up with a godly definition of who I am. Not how I see myself, but how God sees me with my God given gifts and talents.
I am Mary Rodman. A simple, beautiful, humble, gifted, disciple of God whom He chose to write her crazy stories, intertwined with scripture to share with a lost world.
So once again I ask you, “Who are you?” Spend some time truly praying about this question. Search the scriptures for verses that truly describe how God feels about you and His calling on your life. Because, “Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time?” (Esther 4:14b)
