If we know who we really are and what our purpose in life is, we will feel more secure, and our lives would be more meaningful. Our happiness would not depend on others or on circumstances, and our actions would be focused and resolute. In the same way, a company needs to know what its mission is. Its leaders need to remember why it was created in the first place. The type of business may be obvious, but its vision needs to be stated. I helped start our medical practice. What we do is obvious, but why we do what we do and how we plan to do things need to be clearly expressed. This led me to come up with our slogan of “Get the treatment you need, and the service you deserve.” We want to provide our patients with the best doctors to help them with their ailments, but we value the importance of customer service in the healing process. On our mission statement, we also affirmed our intention of treating our employees like family, and hopefully, they will treat our patients in the same manner.
Oftentimes, when we get asked to say something about ourselves, we tell people what we do for a living, or we recite our awards and achievements. It is as if our identity is based on them. We say, “I am a doctor” or “I am a national champion.” On the practical aspect of life, this is acceptable and is the norm. However, in order for us to find true happiness, purpose, and peace in life, we need to seek our true identity and remind ourselves of it. If my identity is based on me being a doctor, what happens after I retire? If my identity is based on me being a national champion, what happens when people forget what I had accomplished? Some people base their identity on their physical beauty. What happens when they age, and no cosmetic interventions could reverse it? Basing our identity on superficial, fleeting, and worldly things would undoubtedly end up in futility. They do not last, and we will be left feeling insecure, dejected, and in despair.
I once looked at the mirror, and asked myself who I really am. I am aware that my person consists of a body and soul. My soul is who I truly am. That consists of my personality, and that which determines how I feel, how I think, and how I love. It is that part of me that communicates with God when I pray. It is that part of me that connects with other people without the help of words or touch. So, I stared at the image on the mirror and removed what was not the real me. I saw skin covering bones, no hair, no fancy clothes, and no adornments. I looked straight into my eyes, and I felt exactly the same way. I was me. I saw the same person that I know is me. Nothing has changed despite the lack of flesh and worldly attachments, and it felt good. If you were to ask me to state who I believe I truly am, I will say, “I am God’s child,” “I am God’s creation,” and “I am God’s servant.” That is who I truly am when it comes down to the very core of me. And I believe, so are you.
I am God’s child because Jesus said in Matthew 6:9, “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven: May your holy name be honored.” I am to call God, my father, because I am His child. Knowing that I am God’s child gives me comfort and security. I know I am loved, and I know that there is someone who will always provide for my needs and safeguard me from all harm. Because I am a child, it would serve me in good stead if I were obedient and follow the will of my father. Like an uninitiated child, I may try to exercise my independence and do things my way or on my own, and end up in trouble, but that is how I learn. I am a father to my children, and I know that a father will always give and forgive. Jesus said in John 15:4-5, “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” And that, I will try to do.
I am God’s creation. In Psalm 139:13, it is said, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” I was designed by God the way He wanted me to be. I have imperfections by human standards, but God must have thought He did a perfect job when He made me; that is all that matters. Jesus said in John 15:16, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit.” God knew what He needed when He created me. My personality traits and human tendencies may lead me to make certain mistakes, but I know for sure that this would not be a surprise to God. Because of this, I will enjoy who I am; nothing about me is a mistake. I will apologize for mistakes that I make, but I will not blame myself for who I am. There are things about me that would need to be improved, but even that is part of God’s grand plan. If all God created were infallible individuals, what is there for us to do in this world? I will maximize my potentials without feeling disappointed about things I could not do. I cannot do everything because I was not born with the knowledge and talent to do them all. I know for certain, that working hard, persevering, and doing my best are all that God expects from me.
I am God’s servant. God has been very kind and generous to me. He has given me more than what I deserve. He loves me despite my faults and lack. He always forgives me even if I say, “I’m sorry” and do the very same thing the next day. He always welcomes me even after all the times I walked away and pretended I did not know Him, only to come back when I needed something. He always helps me and comforts me even when I could not find the words or have the strength, or too proud or ashamed, to ask Him. How can I not dedicate my life serving Him after all that He had done for me? In 1 John 4:19, it is said that “We love because He first loved us.” What can I offer God to show my gratitude? Only my love and obedience would mean anything to Him. The German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, once said, “He who has a Why to live for can bear almost any How.” Serving God by serving others is the highest purpose one can have in life. This lends meaning to life and helps us bear the difficulties we face. Ultimately, this is what will help us find contentment, peace, and true happiness in life. As Viktor Frankl, an Austrian psychiatrist who wrote the famous book, Man’s Search For Meaning, said, “Happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one’s dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one’s surrender to a person other than oneself.”
After all these years, I finally found who I truly am. I am God’s child. I am God’s creation. I am God’s servant. Because of this, I found security and peace, and I learned to love myself and love others more.