Identification vs Identity

Just a couple days ago marked the anniversary of a landmark ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Wong Kim Ark. In 1898, the courts ruled Mr. Ark and all who would come after him, were deemed to be citizens of the United States if they were born here, regardless of their parents’ immigration or citizenship status. After 127 years, that ruling is still being challenged and attempts being made to overturn the 14th amendment to our nation’s constitution. One effect of this is sewing fear into the hearts of everyone walking the streets who doesn’t “look American” enough, being advised to not even leave the house without carrying proper identification and citizenship or immigration papers. It seems that we should be more focused on upholding the constitution rather than trying to overturn the parts of it that we don’t agree with, but I digress. This post isn’t just about birthright citizenship or Supreme Court rulings. There is a deeper reality than what your Passport or Social Security card says about you, and more intimate and real than the description on your driver’s license. Let’s talk about identity.

To adequately consider what identity is, we have to be clear about what it is not. Your identity is not defined by where you were born or live, who you vote for, what you believe, or even what you’ve done. I can’t stress that enough, so let me say it another way. You are not defined by even your worst mistake. What you’ve done is different than who you are. What we do is fickle, shifting like the tides depending on our surroundings, influences, or opportunities. After all the good you’ve done is forgotten and all the bad is either forgiven (or, more likely hidden) from the people around you, when it’s just you left alone in the dark, who is the person that remains? When all opinions and rumors about me are removed from the equation, the sum I am left with is what matters most; my true identity before the God who created me.

So, if more than nationality, more than wealth, more than success or failure, opinions or beliefs, what exactly is identity? In short, I will say this. You and I, in a rainbow of colors and a complete palette of unique qualities and nuance, every last one of us has been created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26). We are sacred beings; spiritual and physical, relational and introspective. Carved out of the dust of the ground and given a soul of creativity, imagination, courage, and empathy, mankind is a miraculous and holy marriage of Heaven and Earth. The daily and the divine all wrapped up in a walking and breathing example of God’s grace. You are a miracle, and so am I. And so is every other human being, cut from the same holy cloth of the divine. Each of us has been created by Love, in the image of Love himself. (1 John 4:7-8) Made to reflect love; love for God and love for others. Therefore, anything we do that is not in love is not an accurate reflection of our identity. This is what we might refer to as “sin”, basically it is missing the mark of perfect love, and chances are I don’t have to try to convince you that you don’t love perfectly. We all blow it sometimes, whether you lose your temper with your kids or spouse, arrogantly judge someone else’s addiction or behavior, or any number of a million different ways that we don’t perfectly love God or our neighbor.

The good news (which in bible language is called the gospel) is that God loved the world so much, every single human being on this blessed planet, that he freely gave himself as a sacrifice to restore a relationship between Heaven and Earth, the dirt and the divine, humanity and divinity. (John 3:16) So my identity is wrapped up in who God says I am: Loved. Forgiven. Sacred. Beautiful. Enough. And so are you, my friend. Only the artist has the right to define his creation, and God who created you has defined you as being worth dying for. And so is every other human, so let’s spend our energy looking for the beautiful and divine in ourselves and each other, rather pointing fingers and fighting about the things that differentiate us from one another.