Tom stood before Jesus Christ and looked forward to hearing the following question " Tom why were you not like Abraham and Moses?' but God asked him " Tom, why were you not Tom , the person I created you to be' . While we struggle to be the person we want to be, we do not pay attention to what God wants us to be. We try to imitate those who we think do well in life. One should try to understand his/her true identity. Jesus saw in Peter what he would become in future. He who betrayed Jesus out of fear, opened the gates of the church to let in 3000 souls on the day of Pentecost. Jesus saw this beneath his timid exterior and Peter fulfilled that expectation. What is our true identity? The world may be deceived by our outward piety but the probing eyes of Jesus that are fixed on us have seen the reality. Great things can be done if we understand our true identity.

The first step to realize our potential is to know ourselves and know God. John Calvin said " There is no deep knowing of God without deep knowledge of self. No deep knowledge of self without deep knowledge of God." A man who does not know himself does not know his weakness. Peter acknowledged his sinfulness but never for a moment realized that he was timid. (Luke 5:8) Therefore when Jesus said he would betray, he doubted that. Had he realized his weakness, he would have exercised caution. If people who have a poor memory, do not realize this weakness they will find themselves in very difficult situations. When a person realizes his weakness, that understanding will help him to seek God's strength.

Next, our understanding of God will help us to worship Him in the right way. If we wish to understand God we must be still. (Psalm 46:10). Job saw God when he was still. (Job 31: 40.)

We can understand and accept our identity when we accept that God loves us. We will understand that our identity is not in what we perform. It is not based on what we possess either . ( Jeremiah 2:13)

We refuse to look deeper when we are shallow and focus on surface things. When our relationship with God is strong, we may not make a show. Shallow deception loses its charm when we are deeply rooted in Christ. We look within and find our true self stripped of its deceptive layers.

Our identity is in who we are not in what we do. Satan blinds us to what God wants us to be and therefore we develop a false self. We will not be shaken if we know ourselves and God. A scholar was praised by many who had gathered to celebrate his birthday. While they all paid great tributes, one person was very quiet and never said anything. People thought very low of him and asked him whether he knew the scholar. He said modestly " Yes, very much. I am his son." Our relationship with God must be subjective, deep and genuine . Flaunting of objective knowledge will lead to self deception and pretension. Elaborate and ornate messages and flowery prayers can flow from an empty heart but silent praises may rise from the heart that is aflame with love for God. Realization of true identity is within the reach of a genuine heart. May God bless you.