Before a man can build a life, he must first know who is building it. Before he can lead others, he must know who he is. Before he can pursue purpose, steward influence or carry responsibility, there is a more fundamental question that must be settled: Who am I?
Many men are building impressive lives on unstable identities. They have careers, businesses, families, titles, platforms and achievements, yet beneath all of these things is a man who may still be unsure of himself. And when identity is unclear, everything built on it eventually becomes vulnerable.
A man who does not know who he is will often borrow his identity from his environment, measure himself by his achievements, seek validation from people and allow his failures to tell him what he can become.
This is why the identity crisis among men is more serious than it first appears. It is not simply a question of confidence or self-esteem. It is a question of design, origin and purpose. If a man does not know what he was created to be, how can he know what his life should become?
The answer begins with God. Man was created in the image of God, and therefore the journey of discovering the man must begin with discovering the God whose image he carries.
One of the Major Problems of Men in This Generation Is Identity
One of the major problems of men in this generation is the issue of identity. Many men are living from definitions they did not create and according to standards they never examined.
- Society tells a man what success looks like.
- Culture tells him what strength looks like.
- His environment tells him what is possible.
- His failures tell him what he cannot become,
- While his achievements can tempt him to make performance the basis of his worth.
The result is that many men are constantly trying to prove themselves. They are trying to become successful enough, wealthy enough, powerful enough, respected enough or influential enough to feel significant. But when your identity is built on what you have, what you achieve or what people say about you, you will always need something outside yourself to validate you.
A man must discover something deeper than performance. He must know who he is before the things he does. He must understand that his life is not an accident and that his existence is connected to a divine intention. Until a man begins to settle the question of identity, many of his pursuits will remain attempts to find an answer through achievement.
Knowing Your Identity Is Tied to Your Knowledge About God
The discovery of identity begins with the discovery of God. This is because man was not self-created. Genesis 1:26 says, “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” Before you can properly understand the image, you must know the One whose image you carry.
This is why knowing yourself cannot be separated from knowing God. Your identity is a divine discovery. You are trying to understand a life that originated in the mind of God.
The more accurately you know God, the more accurately you can begin to understand yourself.
- If you know God as Creator, you begin to understand that you were created with intention and you also have the capacity to create.
- If you know Him as wise, you begin to understand the significance of the intelligence He has placed within humanity which is also deposited in you.
- If you know Him as purposeful, you begin to understand that your existence is connected to purpose.
- If you know Him as a God who works through people, you begin to understand the weight of your responsibility as His representative on earth.
This is why the knowledge of God is foundational to the development of a man. You cannot separate the identity of the creation from the nature and intention of the Creator.
How Much Do You Know the God Whose Image You Are Made In?
The question, therefore, is not merely, “Do you know that you are made in God’s image?” The deeper question is, “How much do you know the God whose image you carry?”
There is a difference between knowing information about God and knowing God. A man can know scriptures, attend church, listen to sermons and still have a shallow understanding of the God he was created to represent. But the deeper your knowledge of God becomes, the more your understanding of yourself should be transformed.
If you were made in His image, then His nature becomes a reference point for understanding your design. This does not mean that man is God, but that God intentionally created man to reflect something of His character, wisdom, dominion and purpose within creation.
The tragedy is that many men are trying to discover themselves by looking everywhere except toward God. They look at celebrities, culture, friends, money, relationships and social media to determine who they are and should become. But the original design cannot be discovered from copies. You must return to the Designer.
Everything You Do is Anchored in Your Identity
Identity is not an abstract idea. It affects almost everything about a man’s life.
- It influences his sight because you will often see your world through the lens of how you see yourself.
- It influences your faith because what you believe about what God can do through you is often connected to what you believe about who you are in relation to Him.
- It influences your beliefs because your understanding of yourself determines what you consider possible, acceptable and necessary.
It also influences execution. A man can have an idea and still fail to act because somewhere within him he has already disqualified himself. He can encounter an opportunity and retreat because he does not see himself as the kind of person who can carry it.
He can receive a divine instruction and spend years negotiating with it because his perception of himself is smaller than God’s intention for him.
This is why identity must be settled at the foundation. When identity is confused, sight becomes distorted, faith becomes weak, beliefs become unstable and execution becomes inconsistent. But when a man becomes grounded in who he is and whose he is, he begins to approach life differently. He can think differently, make decisions differently, take responsibility differently and engage his potential differently.
Identity answers the question, “Who am I?” Purpose answers, “Why am I here?” And responsibility answers, “What am I supposed to do with what I have been given?” A man must eventually move through all three.
Identity Confession
I am the highest representative of divine genius and intelligence given as a gift to humanity for such a time as this.
I am not an accident. I am the product of divine intention. I carry within me capacities, ideas, wisdom and possibilities that were designed to find expression through my life.
I have been placed in this generation deliberately. I will not live beneath the capacity God has placed within me. I will not allow my environment, my past, my failures or the limitations of others to become the definition of my future.
I will know God, understand His design for me, develop what He has placed within me and faithfully express it in my world.
I know who I am. I know whose image I carry. I know why I am here. And I will give my generation the full expression of what God has entrusted to me.
