Remember Who You Are
“Remember who you are.” That phrase is part of our family liturgy. It is the last thing my sons hear me say whenever we part and they head off to work or some other activity. (The same principle applies to my daughters, but there is another phrase I use for the ladies.) My hope is that these words will be the last thing my sons hear me say in this life, or at least that they will remember it years after I am dead.
Our awareness of responsibility is closely related to knowledge of our identity. Who I am informs what I am to do in any given situation. Several years ago there was a medical emergency during a cross-country flight on which I was a passenger. When the flight crew asked if there was a doctor or nurse onboard the plane, they were not looking for me. On the other hand, my children have often stepped in during medical emergencies. They are still emergency medical professionals on their days off.
“Remember who you are” means remembering first that you are a creature. There is a God, and you are not him. We are made from dust, and to dust we shall return. We are mortal and finite, and most of us will not be memorialized in the recorded history of this generation. But though we are mere creatures, we are glorious and significant creatures, made in God’s likeness to bear his image in this world. We were made by God and for God in order to be like God and enjoy life with God forever. Death and deterioration into dust lies in our immediate future, but resurrection, transformation, and immortality in glory is our destiny. If we are to be faithful in this world, we must bear in mind both our insignificance and significance. We are only creatures, after all, but we are the creatures beloved by God and made to be nearest to him.
“Remember who you are” also has a redemptive aspect for Christians. Remember that Christ died for you. He bought you with his blood. Your sins are forgiven, and you are accepted by God, beloved by God, and counted righteous by God for the sake of his Only Begotten Son. You have been adopted into his family. You are a son of God and heir with Christ the King. The Lord works all things together for [your] good and the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that awaits us. We should remember the redemptive and eternal frame of your life and not become distracted by what is only temporary.
“Remember who you are” also reminds us to remember the covenant which God has made with us in his Son. We have not only been bought but also enrolled by the King in his service. We are citizens of a city that has foundations, subjects of a kingdom that will outlast every kingdom of men in this world. We are called to loyalty, diligence, and fruitfulness in all of our endeavors. We labor for the glory of God and the progress of his kingdom in this world. Even the most mundane tasks have real and lasting significance when approached in relation to our covenant with God. Nothing is unimportant, everything connects to our service to Christ, and the daily discipline of diligent, faithful, obedience is part of the worship we were made to give to our God.
Every Lord’s Day the Church gathers to formally and ritually remember who we are. God calls us out of the world—out of sin, darkness, and death—into the marvelous light of his presence that we might proclaim his praise. He cleanses us of our sins. He consecrates us by his Word and Spirit. He communes with us at the family Table of thanksgiving. Then he commissions us to go into all the world, filling it with his work and worshipers, bringing all things into submission to the Lord Jesus Christ.