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Who You Are is Where You Go

          Devin had it all. His friends at school gawked when they watched his mom drop him off in the glimmering Cadillac Escalade, and she was so nice to them all. She knew them by name and even poked her head out the car window and said things like, “Hey, Jake, good job running at the track meet!” Devin and his dad took Tae-Kwon-Do lessons together and traveled to competitions. Devin’s friends couldn’t wait for him to host sleepovers because they’d hang out in his mega multi-media basement and just plug into any game or movie they’d want. So they didn’t understand it when they heard Devin ran away from home. Why would he want to leave? They wondered if it had something to do with Devin being adopted, and they were right. He was one of only a few African American kids in school, and although he was well adjusted, growing up as a child of two different cultures finally caught up with him. Confused and lonely, Devin left on a search to find himself.

            He grew up looking different, talking different, and acting different than the kids around him. Only once in a while his peers would make fun of him or strangers would look at him like he didn’t belong. It really didn’t bother him too much because he was surrounded by loyal friends and a loving adoptive family. The commitment they made to his development – the arts, education, sports, even lessons in leadership and finances – made him feel like a prince. And he was. Moses was born to Israelite slaves in Egypt who disobeyed the ruling Pharaoh’s ungodly orders to the Israelite slaves becoming too numerous for his comfort level, “Every boy that is born you must throw into the Nile [River]” (Exodus 1:22). They hid Moses for three months until it became too obvious that a lively baby boy lived there, so then they made a waterproof basket and floated it in the Nile River near the place where Egyptian women bathe, and left the life and destiny of their son in God’s hands. By God’s mercy Pharaoh’s own daughter found the little boy in the basket and took him home, but she needed some help with child care and Moses’ Israelite mother got the job until Moses was old enough to go to school and live in the Egyptian palace. There, the Bible tells us Moses was educated “in all the wisdom of the Egyptians” (Acts 7:22), so he was schooled in leadership, he studied law, he was taught to solve problems and manage people, he learned the sciences and economics, and was mentored by men of the royal court.

            Growing up as a child of two cultures caught up with Moses and eventually he ran away. “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time.” One wonders how often a maturing young Moses contemplated his identity, and what memories swirled around in his head. What we do know is that Moses, by faith, never forgot the whispers of his mother assuring her tiny little boy how special he was to be an Israelite, a chosen descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Moses, by faith, never forgot his father giving him lessons in spiritual leadership like the story of Joseph who himself became an Egyptian ruler. Moses, by faith, never forgot the pledge he made with his brother and sister, Aaron and Miriam, that they’d always look out for each other no matter where the Lord God led them. Moses, by faith, never forgot the Lord God who promised his Hebrew ancestors that Christ the Messiah would be born to the Israelites to save the world’s sinners, including Moses.

            When Moses ran away from his Egyptian home, he wasn’t searching to find himself. He already knew who he was. He belonged to “the people of God” and that meant following God’s call for him to lead the Israelites out of slavery and to the promised land where Christ the Messiah would someday be born. As an Israelite he’d be mistreated, but that is who he was. He’d have to stare down royal men with whom he was trained in the palace, whose wives he had met, cursing them and their families with the plagues of God if they’d refuse to listen, but that is who he was. He’d have to leave the luxury of his home and camp in the wilderness for 40 years, but that is who he was. He’d perhaps die in the desert, but that is who he was. To say no to his Israelite identity and yes to the prestige and pleasures of being an Egyptian prince wouldn’t have been right for Moses. As a matter of fact, the Bible says it would have been a sin for Moses like it would have been a sin for Joseph to give into the sinful pleasures offered by Potiphar’s wife. But like Joseph, Moses knew who he was. He belonged to God, and belonged among other people who belonged to God. Therefore, Moses went where he did because he knew who he was.

          Being Christians means we struggle with our identity as children of two cultures: 1) the culture of luxurious living like in a palace of Egypt and being a prince or princess with amenities of life at our fingertips, telling people what to do, spending our money on whatever we want, enjoying the best education and health care, living the good life, and on the other hand we 2) live the life of an Israelite slave, seemingly oppressed by a divine destiny that calls us to suffer, that makes no specific promises about earthly wealth, position, or care, expecting us to believe in what we can’t control or understand to achieve the kind of life part of us isn’t sure we want – yet in it all we find blessings and a destiny that are gifts from God. And then we’re faced with a decision. Who am I going to be today? A prince/princess who belongs to this world or a slave who belongs to God?

          Sometimes we’re so enamored with our privileged life that we forget we are slaves, and we choose the life we believe we’re entitled to: prince/princess. In control. The easy life. Riding a chariot. Name recognition. Living in a palace. And to give that up seems silly because it’s ours. But if you’re a prince/princess you’re just not going to be a slave. The Bible calls us to “become slaves to God” (Romans 6:22), and we’ve replied, “Who me? You’re talking to the wrong person. I’m a prince. I’m a princess.” Jesus commands us, “If anyone would come after me they must take up their cross daily and follow me,” (Luke 9:23) and we’ve answered, “Maybe later, I don’t want the cross right now. I can’t handle the cross right now.” So Jesus must warn, “Whoever saves their life will lose it” (Luke 9:24). Try to put your life all together the way you think is best, the way you want it, your way, and you’ll destroy it. Follow Jesus instead. You’ll find your life then. That’s a promise from the Lord of life, who is also the Slave of slaves. This says it all:

          “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed” (Luke 9:22).For Jesus the cross was a “must” not only by direct order from his Father but it was a “must” by his own choice. It’s who he was. He became a slave for any who have refused to be slaves to God or servants of others. He left his throne for any who refused to leave luxury or position. He chose the cross for any who have been repelled by the fears, the inconveniences, the unknowns of taking up our own crosses. And he saved us by doing what the Father called him to do, and being who the Father appointed him to be. Now, for the sake of Christ, you can do what Jesus calls you to do and be who Jesus appoints you to be. Moses “regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than all the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.” Moses knew who he was, and that his destiny found its fulfillment beyond the borders of this world. Moses took off his Egyptian crown, put it down, and picked up the cross given to him by Christ. With Christ and for Christ’s sake, Moses carried that cross for 40 years in the wilderness until, at his last breath, it turned into a heavenly crown.

          Don’t be afraid of bearing your cross. You belong to God and his Son Jesus, and they know the cross. You belong to the faith family of Abraham, Joseph, and Moses, and they know the cross too, and it didn’t kill them. Who You Are is Where You Go so run away (but not from home). Run away from temptation. Flee sinful behavior. Choose what is right no matter how afraid you might be because that is who you are.

          One New York Times bestselling book asks, “If nobody told you who you are, who would you be?” If all the half-truth images splashing across the screen and all the silly assumptions of your mother-in-law and all the unhealthy expectations of your guilty conscience were erased from your memory, and all you knew about yourself was the identity placed on you by God when he made you with your dimples exactly where they are, redeemed you from the sin you’ve struggled with lately, baptized you with the water of the Spirit more powerful than a June thunderstorm that floods your life with divine power and promise, and embraced you again with the “I love you” of his own Son’s body and blood … that is who you are. Be that person, and you’ll go the right way. Amen.

Preached at Grace Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, WI (www.gracedowntown.org) on June 27, 2010

Services

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Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church | 1209 North Broadway Milwaukee, WI 53202 | (414) 271-3006

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