I didn’t want to be like my dad. It wasn’t that my dad wasn’t a good father, it was that growing up, people continuously told me that I looked exactly like my dad. They would compare our dashing good looks, our demeanor, our abilities, and many other areas. That created in me a desire to be different, to find myself and who I really was.

The truth is, there are many ways we could define our identities. One psychological theory says that we define ourselves by our family. Then we rebel and try to find our identity within ourselves. Finally, we chose a community, a group, a church, a sports team, and friends to be a part of that helps us define ourselves. I’m sure you can think of a time when you’ve defined yourself by one of these. We live in a world that’s currently obsessed with personality tests like Enneagram and honestly those aren’t bad, I’m a 9w8 (IYKYK). However, regardless of how we define ourselves, everything will pale in comparison to how God wants us to define ourselves, by Him!

In the passage of Leviticus, we find the Israelites going through a similar process of finding out who they are. God is telling them: “Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.” He is calling the Israelites to be defined by who He is!

Truthfully, a new personality test will come, the people we surround ourselves with will change and our abilities will wither. Nothing will ever be a strong foundation to hold our identities outside of Jesus. We are called to imitate God, our creator. Only by learning who God is, we will find who we are. That’s why I’m glad you’re reading this and spending time with God. You only get to know Him by spending time with Him! Like you do with a friend. So, I just want to encourage you to keep going. Keep building intimacy by praying, reading scripture, and imitating him. It’s a life-long process. It might take me a couple of lives because I’m stubborn. But you’ll be alright!

Ephesians 5:1-2 MSG

Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.