By Olubunmi Adebayo
*When Jesus Christ asked his disciples who the people said He was, and later, who the disciples themselves claimed He was in the gospel of St. Matthew, what Jesus actually wanted to teach us, individually and collectively, was the power of _self-identification_.*
*The reason for the teaching is that “no matter what people say you are, whatever you say you are is the most important definition about yourself”.*
*Please read the story above in some details:*
*Mat 16:[15] He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?*
*[16] And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.*
*[17] And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.*
*Infact, some schools of thought are of the opinion that the first law of positive direction in life, is the law of _Self – Identification_.*
*For any man, anything short of not being able to identify who you really are, is a recipe for failure.*
*This is because when a fellow does not know who he is, facing and handling the challenges confronting him becomes quite difficult.*
*The first awareness God gave to Moses on the way towards embracing the responsibility of leading Israel out of the bondage of Egypt (one of the greatest challenges of leadership in the entire Bible) was to let Moses know Who God really is :*
*Exodus 3: [13] And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?*
*[14] And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.*
*The name title above – I AM THAT I AM, is the summary of Who God is. And no less a One but God HIMSELF gave humanity the Mame Title which is actually a description of Who God is.*
*By the title I AM THAT I AM, God was exposing that side of Him as being Self created, self existing, and self sustaining.*
*The impression you have on who you are will determine how you will embrace issues of life as they come to you, and indeed, how far you will go.*
*Please permit me to ask, “who do you really think you are?”*
*Whatever opinion you have about yourself will go a long way in determining how far you will go.*
*Some group of people said that the men occupying the land which God had promised to give to their forefathers, which they could see before them, was a land filled with GIANTS, and that they themselves were like GRASSHOPPERS before the giants of the land.*
*You know what reply God gave to them?*
*Numbers 14:[23] “Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it”.*
*Going forward, your first positive review and working principle for going forward is to have a correct perspective of your Self -identity. Anything short of this may be counter productive to the plan of God for your life.*
Top of the day to you 👍
©️ Olubunmi S Adebayo.
