Remember Who You Are
Nearly 500 years ago, a young French law graduate named John Calvin wrote his magnum opus, The Institutes of the Christian Religion. At nearly 1000 pages, Calvin’s systematic theology is a book which in many ways would become a summary of Reformation doctrine.
He began the book like this...
Nearly all the wisdom we possess, that is to say, true and sound wisdom, consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves. . . . It is certain that man never achieves a clear knowledge of himself unless he has first looked upon God’s face, and then descends from contemplating him to scrutinize himself.[1]
You’ll never truly know who you are unless you first understand who God is! Years ago I heard a revival preacher talk about the “top-button down principle.” The preacher said that when you’re buttoning a dress shirt, you start at the top button and work your way down. Unless you get the top button right, you’re going to get the rest wrong.
The distinction between the Creator and the creation is a top-button down principle. It makes perfect sense that people who get this distinction wrong are confused on so many other distinctions!
No wonder people are looking within for enlightenment, self-worth, purpose and hope! We’ve lost the distinction between God and mankind because we’ve lost the distinction between the Creator and the creation.
No wonder politicians can say it doesn’t matter if they get the facts wrong as long as they’re morally right! We’ve lost the distinction between truth and lies because we’ve lost the distinction between the Creator and the creation.
No wonder so many people are encouraged to forget what other people say and “do what’s right for you”—even if that means doing something like taking the life of an unborn child. We’ve lost the distinction between good and evil because we’ve lost the distinction between the Creator and the creation.
No wonder advocacy groups say things like “meat is murder” and “animals are people too.” We’ve lost the distinction between humans and animals because we’ve lost the distinction between the Creator and the creation.
No wonder many people value planet life more than human life, like the “Birthstrikers” who refuse to have children until climate change is dealt with. We’ve lost the distinction between humanity and the earth because we’ve lost the distinction between the Creator and the creation.
No wonder our culture is increasingly confused about sexuality. No wonder in Britain in 2018 there was a 4,400% rise over the previous decade in teenage girls seeking gender treatments. No wonder the numbers of gender-reassignment surgeries for girls in the US recently quadrupled in one year.[2] We’ve lost the distinction between men and women because we’ve lost the distinction between the Creator and the creation.
If you’re struggling with any of these distinctions, you will begin to find a firm foundation as you dive deeper into the knowledge of who you are as you dive deeper into the truth about who God is!
If you’re not struggling don’t look down on the struggler! Love them and point them to the truth!
[1] Calvin, John (2011). Institutes of the Christian Religion (J. T. McNeill, Ed., F. L. Battles, Trans.) (Vol. 1, p. 35-37). Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.
[2] Abigail Shrier, Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters (Washington, DC: Regnery Publishing, 2020).