What’s Your Middle Name?
You might have noticed that on my books, my name is listed as Paul David Tripp. And in other locations, like here in Wednesday’s Word, I’m just plain Paul, without the middle name.
No, I’m not experiencing an identity crisis or forgetting to put my full name half the time. (Although when Luella speaks to me as Paul David, I know I’d better pay attention!)
Why the difference? Well, here’s a fun fact: when I was getting ready to write my first book nearly 30 years ago, there was another Paul Tripp: a children’s musician, songwriter, actor, and author, most famous for a piece of children’s classical music called “Tubby the Tuba.” So, to not confuse my writing with that of the other Paul Tripp and Tubby the Tuba, I listed my middle name— and it’s stuck on all my books ever since!
Last week, I wrote about location amnesia and asked if you knew what your spiritual address was—that is, remembering that you live in a dramatically broken world. Many of us struggle with location amnesia that results in disappointment and discouragement because we forget (or deny) the reality of where God has chosen for us to live until our eternal home.
In the same way, many of us also struggle with identity amnesia. We have forgotten who we are, not because we’ve forgotten the middle name on our birth certificate, our family heritage, or the previous jobs on our resume.
No, we forget what the Bible says about who we are, and we forget who we are in Christ.
As a result, many of us live with an attitude that I call spontaneous emotional reactivity. We might soar with joy in one moment, and in the next, plummet toward despair. Why the roller coaster of emotions? At the risk of oversimplifying, it’s because our reactions rely on the spontaneous and often volatile external situations and relationships outside our control, rather than being grounded in the timeless truth of Scripture and our unshakeable identity in Christ.
If we don’t live out of our biblical identity, we will instead tend to get our internal sense of meaning and purpose from whatever or whoever is around us in the moment.
Last week, I wrote that the two responses to location amnesia are “be honest and mourn” and “be glad and anticipate.” In the same way, I would like to propose that there are two responses to identity amnesia.
Or perhaps a better way to say it is that we need to remember our two biblical identities: “sinner” and “child of grace.”
These two identities—sinner and child of grace—are the pillars that produce an effective and fruitful lifestyle this side of eternity.
My identity as a sinner daily confronts me with how deep and pervasive my need actually is. My identity as a child of grace confronts me with how expansive my potential actually is.
It is only when I humbly admit my identity as a sinner that I live as a consumer of the grace of God, and it is only when I am comforted by my identity as a child of grace that I will be able to look honestly at the magnitude of my sin.
(I will write more about both of these in the next two weeks!)
You are always living out of some sense of identity. You are constantly telling yourself who you are, and the identity you assign to yourself has much to do with how you respond to the difficulties of life.
To recognize their existence and understand what it means to possess them both, together, is to see yourself as you truly are. This will profoundly shape your fundamental sense of self and radically influence for the better how you live right here, right now, between the Fall and Destiny.
Sinner and child of grace: there is simply no replacement for an accurate knowledge of who you really are.
A Prayer for Today: Lord, I pray that you would help me to see and know who I am. Often I forget about my identity as both a sinner and a child of grace, and my forgetfulness pushes me toward living in a way that isn’t biblical or honoring to you. Please forgive me for my identity amnesia, God. I need you to help me understand my neediness, and I need you to help me live in your grace. Would you help me to view myself in the correct way? Thank you, Lord. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.
Discussion Prompt for Children
1. Why do you think it’s important to understand who you are as a person? How can we start to get an idea of who we truly are as people? In what ways does the Bible help us to see who we really are?
2. How do our reactions to hard things in life help us to see who we really are? If we’re not seeing ourselves rightly, how can we begin to change so we can see ourselves correctly?
3. How do you think Jesus sees you? Why is that the most important way to see yourself?
Reflection Questions
1. In what ways have you seen your own personal “identity amnesia” impact the way you go about life and react to various situations? If you are constantly telling yourself who you think you are, what narrative needs to be replaced with an accurate biblical one?
2. Even though it can feel bizarre to label yourself as a sinner, how does the truth of that impact your approach to being a child of grace? Why do the identities of “sinner” and “child of grace” matter so much to you as a follower of Christ? If they don’t matter to you, why do you think that is?
3. How does your spontaneous emotional reaction to life’s circumstances affect nearly every aspect of your day-to-day life? In what specific ways would you like God to change you so you’re not a slave to your volatile external situations and relationships?
4. Why is being grounded in Scripture and your identity in Christ the absolute best way to live? What needs to change for you in order to start living that way?