Readings for today: Exodus 19-21
Who am I? It’s a fundamental question. What makes me…me? What makes up my personhood? What grounds my identity? Is it my gender? My sexual orientation? My ethnicity? My nationality? Is it the family or clan or tribe I happen to come from? Is it my economic or social status? Does it have to do with my educational level? My profession? My level of influence in the world? Surely, all of these contribute to a sense of identity but none of them is strong enough to handle the full complexity of the human person. None of them is comprehensive enough to describe the full measure of what it means to be human. And if I try and ground my identity in any of these, my life will flatten out, becoming two dimensional, and I will lose out on so much of what God has for me.
I imagine Israel was asking this question. Now that they’ve been miraculously delivered from slavery, who are they? Who are they as a people? Who are they as a nation? They could have easily gone in a thousand different directions, trying to find the answers but thankfully, God had one already prepared. “You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt and how I lifted you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. And now, if you will diligently listen to me and keep my covenant, then you will be my special possession out of all the nations, for all the earth is mine, and you will be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you will speak to the Israelites.” (Exodus 19:4-6 NET) God’s special possession. A kingdom of priests. A holy nation. From this point forward, Israel’s life will not be her own. She was bought with a price. God Himself intervened in human history and brought them out on eagle’s wings from under the tyranny of the greatest empire of the day. God did this because He wanted a people to call His own. A people with whom He would dwell. A people He would love and lead and protect and provide for all the days of their lives. And all He asks in return is that they listen to Him and keep His covenant.
Through Jesus Christ, the way has been opened for Gentiles to become part of God’s chosen people. To be “grafted in” as the Apostle Paul says in the Book of Romans. To be adopted as God’s own children and made part of His family. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we too become a royal priesthood, a chosen race, and a holy nation. Christ Himself becomes our identity, eclipsing all others. I am now a Christian. Full stop. No modifiers or qualifiers needed. All other worldly distinctions fade away. I am fully His even as He is fully mine and it is enough. He is all I need.
Readings for tomorrow: Exodus 22-24