Identity

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Col. 3:17)

Identity

Today I have been pondering the many ways that one might answer the question of “Who are you?” or “What do you do?” if a stranger asked. I am a photographer. I am also a husband, father, son, friend, and most importantly a follower of Christ. My paid vocation happens to be in aviation but that would only tell a small part of the larger story. Often times when asked this question we immediately jump to whatever vocational choice happens to pay the bills and we choose to use that as our identity. My point of pondering today on this is to wonder why this is and to consider adjusting how I should answer this question in the future.

One thing I find interesting about my initial list… photographer, husband, father, son, friend, follower of Christ, is that only one item in the list is a “do” item. The rest are close relationships that shape who I am and the way that I spend time. For the “do” of photography I might have substituted any number of things I enjoy now or have enjoyed passionately in the past that may have come and gone over time. Interestingly, it is our relationships that tend to stand the test of time more than activities or even vocations. Going deeper, what is the tie between our “doing” things and our relationships?

Word and Deed

The Apostle Paul in Colossians 3:17 (and also 1 Cor. 10:31) chooses to correlate our activities directly to our most important relationship in life. He makes the point that “whatever you do” should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus in a posture of thankfulness to God. Why the correlation between earthly pursuits and our relationship to God? I believe that what Paul is driving at here is that it is this posture that puts us in a place of humility and also points the glory to the one place that it should be. Whether at work in a vocational pursuit or in an activity that I enjoy such as photography, the response is the same. First, it should be done unto the Lord in thankfulness that I am able to do whatever I am doing, and secondly whatever level of success that comes the glory must be given to Him. Finally, without the fostering of a relationship with Him it will not be possible to bring Him glory in our pursuits.

Glory

For my photography it is always my hope that you find the images enjoyable to look at and that they bring a blessing by being the best quality that I am able to produce but it is most important that they put the spotlight on the Creator and His glory. Take the sunset in the picture above. It would be easy for someone to say “nice photo!” (provided they actually like it!) or to say to me “great job!” but the fact will always remain that I did not create the sunset and the conditions that resulted in that sunset. My only task was to feebly capture a tiny slice of that moment in time to save to pass on to anyone who might take the time to view the photo. God deserves the entire glory for His amazing creation and as we are commanded in Colossians 3:17 I will strive to do this activity in the name of Jesus and give thanks to God.

I hope that these thoughts today are able to be used by the Lord to drive you toward a relationship with Him or into a deeper commitment to “do all for His glory” if you already are in Christ. Wherever you are on that journey take some time today to talk to God and ask Him to show you where to take those next steps.

Ken
Psalm 8:3-9