In Judges 6, Gideon is greeted by the angel like this: “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” 

Now this is strange because Gideon is not, in fact, a mighty warrior. We know he’s not because of where he was. He is doing an outside activity in a closed environment. Gideon is threshing wheat, which was a common and necessary practice. But the usual practice of threshing wheat was to cut the stalks and then beat them with a rod. You would then discard the straw and then toss the mixture up into the air. The wind would catch the chaff and blow it away and the heavier grains would fall to the ground. This is what Gideon was doing. But he was so afraid of the Midianites and that even threshing wheat would attract attention, that he was doing it while hiding in a sheltered vat that was used for pressing grapes. 

This is the “mighty warrior” God has chosen. Clearly, then, there are two different perspectives on this topic of Gideon’s identity. There is the earthly, visual perspective that looking at the current situation you would have to say that Gideon’s identity is that of a coward. But apparently there is another perspective – the divine perspective – that says the identity of this judge is that of a mighty warrior. 

This topic – the topic of identity – is an increasingly relevant one. Nationalism. Privilege. Ancestry. Gender. Politicism. Are you a republican or democrat? Progressive or conservative? Pro or con? All these cultural discussions have an element of identity at their core. Now, like never before, we seem to be asking that question not just about others, but about ourselves. “Who am I?” we ask. “To what do I belong?”

But you see, there is actually another question – a much older question – that not only is part of this discussion of identity. This question actually lays the groundwork for identity. And that is the question of authority. 

Identity begins with authority. If we want to have the answer of identity, then we must first grapple with the question of authority. While the question of identity seeks to answer, “Who am I?” the question of authority seeks to answer who can even give the answer of identity. 

Here, then is the real question that lies at the heart of the identity question: Are we going to choose to be self-determining beings, or are we going to acknowledge the rule of God?

If we choose to be self-determining, then the question of identity becomes really fluid. Who do you want to be today? Do you want to be male or female? Do you want to be moral or immoral? Do you want to faithful or not faithful? 

But if we accept the rule and reign of God, then our primary question about identity changes. No longer are we asking, “Who do I think I am?” or “Who do I feel like I am?” or even “Who do I wish I am?” Instead, our primary question, rooted in the authority of God, becomes “Who does God say that I am?”

As we move through life, there will not only be those who want to tell us what our identity is; there will be threats to our identity. Those threats come whenever a set of circumstances threatens that which we tend to look to as our marks of identity. So let’s say that you have a job that you’re very proud of. And you’re very good at. And you serve at that job for decades. But eventually, that job is going to go away, and for many people this is a moment of crisis, because the thing by which they have identified themselves has been suddenly stripped away. They are left listless and lost.

Or let’s say that you are a parent and you are heavily invested in your children. So invested that even though you didn’t realize it, your children and their achievement in sports, academics, the arts, or whatever has become the primary source of your identity. You are so and so’s mom – that’s how people know you. But there will come a time when you find yourself to be an empty nester, and you have that same feeling of lostness. Who are you then?

We need something deeper – something more stable – something more firm by which to identify ourselves. And that is good news if you’re a Christian, because God, in His authority, has told you who you are. And it’s an identity that will never change regardless of what your career is, what your role in the community is, or what circumstances come your way. God has declared you to be His child. That is who you are because He said so.