Who You Are Not

Who You Are Not (by William Johnson)

You are not your stories
You are not your thoughts
You are not your judgements
You are not your condemnation
You are not your past
You are not your future
You are not your present
You are not your wrongs
You are not your sins
You are not your pain
You are not your mistakes
You are not your body
You are not your illness
You are not your are not what others say about you or think of you
You are not your are not your appearance
You are not your job
You are not your relationships
You are not your education
You are not your titles
You are not your feelings
You are not your depression
You are not your anxiety
You are not your anger
You are not your sadness
You are not your beliefs
You are not your self concepts
You are not your fears
You are not your self judgements
You are not even your name, personality or religion

Who are you?

One created in the image of God
A spiritual being
Spirits and souls with earth suits on – with skin on
The perfect, beautiful, guiltless imago dei
Fully pleasing
Fully loved
Fully enjoyed
Fully cherished
How arrogant and misguided to think you are just an unworthy sinner
You are and remain as God created you
May you believe the truth about yourself no matter how beautiful it is

“All great spirituality teaches about letting go
of what you don’t need and who you are not.”
—Richard Rohr

It’s all about identity.  And it’s all about remembrance and awareness and overcoming our spiritual amnesia. We are created in God’s image (Gen 1:27) and are God’s work of art (Eph. 2:10). When will we reclaim our identity, our magnificence and beauty and live accordingly?

The key to happiness?  A beautiful theology, a beautiful identity and a beautiful purpose.  The way I’ve been saying it to myself every morning and when I think of it is: “I am loved, I am love/lovely/lovable (I haven’t figure out which one I like the best) and I am loving.  Theology – having a relationship with a God who is only love.  Identity – knowing my identity as one loved by God affects how I view and know myself as love as well.  And out of that comes a beautiful purpose – of extending love.  So why do I concentrate so much on who I am not instead of who I am. Could it be that I am not anything but loved, lovely and loving?  I think it could.

A prayer: Oh God, help me to believe the truth about myself no matter how beautiful it is.  And help me believe the truth about you as well – no matter how beautiful it is.  And while I’m at it, help me to also believe the truth about others no matter how beautiful it is.