At the risk of showing my age and being accused of being stuck in the 70’s, I remember very vividly Roger Daltry from the Who belting out these lyrics in a hit song from 1978:

“Who are you?  I really wanna know.  Tell me, who are you?  Cause I really wanna know.”

This song was written about a real life and shallow experience of band-member Peter Townshend, but the question itself is very profound and deeply layered.

The first and most obvious answer to the question is our given name.  Our name is important even though we may not believe it or think about it much.  Our first and middle names are usually given to us by our parents as a remembrance or namesake, or possibly for a deeper meaning.  These names could have been, and may still be, important to our parents or family for one of several reasons.  If you never knew the reasons for your names and can ask you parents, I encourage you to do so.  Our last name at birth identifies us with our family heritage, who are parents are, and who our grandparents and ancestors were.  If you are fortunate enough to have had your family history traced back, you may even know the past history of your family’s immigration.

The second layer of who we are is a summation of our life’s experiences: the people who have had an influence on us, the places we’ve lived, the friends and mentors we have surrounded ourselves with, and the education we’ve received.  All of these have had an influence on who we are today, for the good and for the not-so-good.

But the root of who we are is much deeper than all of these.  At our very core, each one of us is a unique creation of God, created in His image and uniquely crafted for His will and purpose.  In the earliest days of creation recorded in Genesis 1:27 it states:

“God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

(When a statement is made like this three times in the Bible, it is to ensure the reader hears it, understands it, and accepts it as important and unmistakable truth).

But God did not simply create us through the gift of procreation by humans.  He revealed to the Psalmist David the deep and profound truth that we are uniquely crafted by God even before we are given a name, or have been shaped by our experiences and environment.  David put it this way in Psalms 139:13-14:

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

Before we learn a person’s name, or find out what kind of person they have become, we already know the fundamental truth about who they are and how they started out.  I try to look differently at new people I haven’t met yet and remember that they, like me, are a creation of God and just as important to Him as I am.

What about you? 

Who are you?