Identity: Who Am I?

Study Notes

Identity: Who Am I? - Sermon Notes

Heart Cry for Identity:  Who Am I?

Psalm 8

     Who am I?  This is one of the most asked questions in our world today.  But, it’s not a question that’s always been asked a lot.  It’s only been in more recent generations that people focused much on personal identity.  When I was a boy growing up in the Appalachian Mountains, I don’t think I ever was asked, “Son, who are you? – except to get my name.  We didn’t have existential discussions about personal identity.  It’s not that people didn’t care about such things – but I don’t think we talked about it.  So, if you’re from my generation, maybe you wonder whether our sermon topic about the search for identity is a heart cry that is significant for many people.  But, believe me:  It is!  So, let me help you to see what it’s about: 

     Take out the “blue sheet” in your Worship Folder and you’ll see a question there:  Who am I?  I want you to answer that now.  The sheet starts you off with, “I am a _________.  How would you answer that?

• I don’t want you to put your family name there.  That’s too easy.
• I don’t want you to put, “I am a Jesus-follower” or “a Christian” or “child of God” there. You know already that I’ll talk about that in the sermon.  I want you to put what comes to mind after that. 

     How do you identify yourself to others?  What is really important to you.  It could be that you are a PHS student.  It might be your job, e.g., “I am a pastor – an actor.”  It might be that you are a husband or wife.  It might even be that you are a Dodgers’ fan.  Make sure that whatever you write is something very important to you.  Write down the way that you identify yourself on your sheet and then put that sheet to the side for now.

Our World and Self-Identity – How Things Have Changed!

     Before getting into Psalm 8 today, let’s consider how the world generally has thought about self-identity. 

What Once Was -- Throughout most of history and in most of the world, people have not written about identity issues much.  The reason is that the question of who a person is was largely fixed by birth.  By that, I mean that a person would be born in the family home and would rarely move.  There was very little opportunity for upward economic mobility.  People married within their community and their class. Your occupation, religion and location were locked into from birth on – and it was almost impossible to break out of those realities.  There are countless stories from all over the world of people trying to be set free from those identities: Stories of princes and paupers, princesses and peasants and even conversions to another faith – all stories of people trying to become something different from what their birth family and class determined.  But, doing so was very hard.

The American Dream – Some of what fueled people’s immigration to America was the deep longing to break free from some of the limitations that people had experienced in their birthplaces.  This was especially true of those who had come to personal faith in Jesus.  They had the longing to be able to identify themselves as followers of Jesus and to worship God without government and cultural interference.  People who came to America came with the hope of becoming something very different from what they thought was possible in their homelands.  They also wanted to have a chance to be educated, to build businesses and to pursue their dreams.  With that happening, they had to find different ways to identify themselves.  Like what?

     For most of my life, I have heard people talk about who they are in terms of what I call “external considerations”: level of education, their good looks, their accomplishments, their possessions, the job title on their business card.  I have preached many messages about this to you.  I’ve told you over and over what you already knew, i.e., that all those external things will not last. 

     Do you remember my illustration of a business card?  My business card says, “Greg Waybright, PhD.  Sr. Pastor of Lake Ave. Church.” It’s a wonderful position in a great church.  I am a pastor.  But, is that the essence of who I am?  Someday, I will no longer be Sr. Pastor of this church.  When that happens, who will I be then?

     If any external and temporary thing is your identity, when that external thing is lost or taken away, you will feel empty, you will not know who you are.

Self Discovery

     Several decades ago, I began to hear people people talk about identity in a different way.  Some people saw the futility of have their identities determined by external things like what they possess or what they accomplish.  I began hearing people speak of having certain passions inside that they had to pursue in order to be the person they were meant to be.  In the church, it became less common for people to say, “I will follow Jesus wherever he calls me to go and become what he made me to be.”  Instead, they said, “I have these passions inside.  God gave me those passions so I must follow them to be who he made me to be.”

     I call this approach to personal identity “self discovery” because it’s driven by the idea that there is a way inside each of us that we were meant to be.  If that’s true, then the only way to live well is to discover who that inner person is and live that way.  Otherwise, you’ll be untrue to yourself.  The one who believes in God says that God has given me those passions and gifts and I must discover them and use them.  The unbeliever says, “There is a way I am inside – it’s determined by my genes. I must discover that inner self and live that way or I’ll be miserable.”

     The most obvious place this has come out has been in the ongoing debates about sexual practice.  The idea that is at the center of many people’s viewpoint is this: “I am a certain way.  I must discover who I am.  Society has told me I cannot be the way I know that I am.  So, I must first discover who I am inside for myself and then freely celebrate that – and live the way that I am – or I will not be who I am.”

     For our world, this way of having our identities determined by our internal passions sounds better.  But, is it?   This is a big and complex discussion.  I will simply say that many of our passions contradict one another.  For example, you may say, “I have a passion to be a good parent and I also have a passion to have a lucrative career.”  Or, “I have a passion to be a good husband but I also feel a passion for that new lady at work.”  Or, “I want to eat fattening food but I want to be thin.”  Those are conflicting passions.  If your identity is established following your passions, you will so find yourself ripped apart.  Our passions come and go – and often are misguided.  We know that.  The need we have as human beings is for need one core identity – one core passion – that directs the whole of our lives.

     And, Psalm 8 speaks of that as clearly as any passage in the Bible.

Psalm 8:  Who am I?  I am a child of God made to glorify my Father.

     We could spend many hours going line by line through this magnificent Psalm about the majesty and glory of God.  But, what I’ve I’ve chosen to do is to show you the Psalm’s main point and how it speaks to this deep longing we human beings have to know who we are and why we are in this world.

     Let me walk you through the Psalm.  There are only two main points of this Psalm:

Point 1:  God – yes our God – is glorious.  Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth (8:1,9)!

     There are two different Hebrew names for God in those verses: 1) Adonai – the name for the God who rules over everything in all creation. 2) Yahweh – the name for the personal God who knows, cares for, and loves his people.  Isn’t that an amazing thought?  This God who knows us and loves us (Yahweh) is also the powerful and majestic God who is over “all the earth” (Adonai).  Then, David tells us just how majestic the Lord is:

     To do so, David takes us back to Genesis 1 and God’s creation. Make note of what the Psalmist tells us.  In v.1b, he says that the Lord, our Lord, is not only majestic in all the earth but in everything beyond the earth.  “You have set your glory above the heavens.” By this, he suggests that God existed before there was an earth – his glory is both above and before everything else – both on earth and in the heavens.  The consequence of this is in v.3, i.e., that all we observe in the sky when we look through telescopes at JPL/NASA – all things we know of in all creation have been created and set in place by God, the one who is our God (v.3).

Point 2: God made us to reflect his glory.  What is a human being… (8:4)?

     The main question of Psalm 8 is the question I want to make sure you do not miss today: What does God say it means to be human?  Does he say our lives matter?  The Psalmist was one small speck in all that God has created and that God is lord over.  Like scientists looking through at as much as they can through their microscopes and telescopes, he says in v.3, “I look at the heavens that are the word of your fingers. I see the moon and the stars you have set in place.  Then I look at myself.  Who am I, Lord?  Do I matter?  Why would you be mindful of me?  Why would you ever care for me?” 

     And God’s answer, discovered in v.5 is this: “I do know you and I do care for you.  More than that, I’ve made you to make my glory known to the world.  I have made you to be the apex of my creation, to be those directly under me.”  That’s what v.5 is saying.  Our Bibles sometimes translate the verse, “You made us just lower than the angels.”  But the word the Psalmist uses is “Elohim”, the name usually used for God as Creator.  In this context, I believe it is referring, in first respect, to the fact that in creation, as Gen 1:27 says, “God created human beings in his own image, male and female he created in his image and likeness.”  That means that, as human beings, we are not God.  We are not eternal.  No, we too are a part of God’s creation.  But, like nothing else in all creation, we are made in God’s image.  And our core identity, according to this Psalm, is that we are to reflect God’s image – his glory -- in the world.

     The rest of the Psalm elaborates on that.  God has put all things under our oversight.  He’s given us the ability to care for the world he has made.  Everything else God made is dependent on our caring for the world as God cares for the world.  Did you notice v.6?  “Lord, you made human beings rulers over the works of your hands. You put everything under their feet.”  That means that just as God is mindful of us and cares for us, so we are to be mindful of and care for everything he has made in his world.  As those bearing the image of God, we are God’s image bearers in this world.  That’s our intended identity.  That’s who you and I are meant to be.

     That does not mean that we do not have other secondary identities – we all do.  I am a pastor.  I am a tennis fan.  I am a husband and father.  But, my main identity is that I am a child of God created to glory my Father.  All those other identities need to be submitted to God.  There should be nothing in his place.

     But, what does that mean practically?  What does it mean for you to be a child of God who lives each day glorifying God?  It means at least two things:

#1:  The ways and character of God should guide your life – This is only implied in this Psalm but is explicit throughout the rest of the Bible.  In contrast to the ways the world might speak about your identity, about who you are at your core, the Bible says that you are to live your life with one main desire, i.e., to please the Lord. 

     When you live as God has made you to live, your first question should never be, “What does my world expect of me?”  And, the first question also dare not be, “What are my own passions?”  No, the first question of one who knows he has been created to glorify God is, “Father, what would you have me to be?”  And that question will soon be followed by, “How would you have me to live?”

     I find that living this way is incredibly freeing.  When you come to follow Jesus, you no longer have to be a slave to the fear of displeasing all these different people in your world.  There is only one person you have to please.  That one person is your Maker. 

     And, just as important, you don’t have to be a slave to living a life driven by your passions.  Those are contradictory and ever-changing.  As Eph 2:3 says, “All of us also lived at one time gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts.”  Jesus came to set us free from living that way. 

     And, I need to add, when you live with the single ultimate identity as being one who wants to glorify God, then everybody around you will be better off.  You’ll treat them better.  Why do I say that? – because God’s 2^nd greatest command is to love all people as you love yourself.  You will see God’s image in each person – including your spouse, family, strangers… everybody -- and you will live wit these thoughts in mind:

• I cannot mistreat or disregard those who are old and glorify the majesty of God.

• I cannot disregard the plight of the unborn child and glorify the majesty of God.
• I cannot disregard the pain and cries of injustice that people of color are voicing about young men being killed all over the nation and glorify the majesty of God.
• I also cannot close my eyes to the fact that members of law enforcement are being viewed as inherently evil and therefore killed in the line of duty and glorify the majesty of God.
• I cannot see the person next to me crying and walk away and glorify the majesty of God.

     The next time someone asks you, "Why are you take notice of the homeless families – or mentor students struggling in their schools with no family support (if, indeed, you do those things)?" try answering, "Because no amount of inconvenience could ever justify treating the supreme creation of God as if they don’t matter." And then read them Psalm 8 and show them a vision of God and of what it means to be human – like I’m trying to do for you today.  That may lift their thoughts higher than they’ve ever gone before.

     And – not only will you treat people better if your identity is to glorify God.  You’ll treat everything in God’s world better too. Why to I say that?

#2:  You will be mindful of and care for the rest of creation – for it is your Father’s world.

    You dare not miss that, in making us, God says, “This is who you are. You are created to ‘have dominion over all the works of my hands.’”  For some reason, this divine calling is something that many Christians are afraid to accept because it’s been politicized in our nation.  But again, we must be guided by God and his Word – not in fear of the thinking of our world.  And God tells us that he made us to be mindful of and care for all that he made.

     In preparing this sermon, I decided to get away from the politics of our own culture and to read what The Africa Bible Commentary said about this.  Kenyon author, George Kinoti, pointed out that the church in Kenya is beginning to take up this mandate to be God’s caregivers for all creation.  He said that, in Kenya, God’s people were beginning to see the loss of forests, the pollution of water, the loss of fish, and the rapid changing of the climate.  He said the church must continue to see this as central to glorifying God and must become more committed to joining people like Kenyan Nobel Prize recipient, Wangari Maathai, whose understanding of Gen 1 motivated her to preserve Africa’s environment.  I say the same to us – those who know our main identity and calling is to bring glory to the Father whose world this is.

     I will take up this matter again next year when we revisit Genesis 1.  For now, I want you to see that you will never discover who you were meant to be until you day-by-day surrender your entire being to the Lordship of Christ – and that means that you will be mindful of and care for both the creation over which we have dominion and the people of this world who bear God’s image whose paths cross your own.

     Who are you?  How do you answer that question?  Why are you in this world?  What is the purpose of your life?  Let me leave you with two testimonies from people of God who found their identities in glorying God.  First, let’s listen to the Apostle Paul.  Who am I?

I live for God -- for I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Gal 2:19-20).

    And then from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was willing to stand with the persecuted Jewish people and against Nazi tyranny and thereby offered up his life simply because he believed this was God’s call upon his life. 

"Who am I?  A hypocrite?  A contemptible weakling?  There's something in me like a beaten army fleeing in disorder.  Who am I?  They mock me, these lonely questions of mine. Whoever I am, you know O God, my God ‑‑ I am yours."

Chinese Study Notes

Identity: Who Am I? - Chinese Translation

关于身份的呐喊：我到底是谁？

诗篇8篇

我到底是谁？这是今日世界发出的最频繁的问题之一，然而，却不是每个时代都会经常问的问题。近几代人开始关注个人身份的话题。我在阿帕拉琪安大山里长大的时候，从没人问过我，“孩子，你是谁？--除非他只是想知道我的名字。但我很清楚”我是谁”和”我为什么存在”这样的问题越来越成为社会中来自心灵强烈的呼声。我们就从今天讲道题目的问题开始。

请拿出敬拜夹中蓝色的一页，你会看见上面写着：我是谁？我请你亲自来回答这个问题。问题的开头是以“我是————。你会怎样回答？

• 请不要在上面填写你的姓名。那太简单了。
• 请不要在上面填写 “我是耶稣的跟随者”或“基督徒”或“上帝的孩子。”你已经知道我讲道中会谈这些。我要你在这写上你之后的想法。

你会对别人怎样介绍你自己呢？哪些东西对你很重要。也许是你作为医学院的学生。也许是你的工作，比如，“我是牧师。”也许是你作为某某人的丈夫或妻子。也许是你作为道奇的球迷。确认不管你写什么，对你来说乃是重要的。你给自己身份定位后，请把这页纸放在一边。

                    我们的世界和自我身份—如何演变到如此地步

在读今天的诗篇8篇之前， 让我们先思想一下这个世界对个人身份是如何认识的。

曾经—历史上的大多数时候，大多数的人们很少写关于身份的话题。原因在于有关一个人是谁的问题基本上是由出生决定的。我的意思是说，一个人的身份在某个家庭出生后就很少变动了。经济上提升的机遇是很难得的。人们通常都在自己阶层或圈子内结婚。你的职业，宗教和居住区从出生起就基本定了—很难跳出这个现实的圈子。世界各地都听得到关于人们想跳出那些身份圈子的故事—这些故事都讲到人们想成为与他们的家庭和阶层不同的人。然而，这样做是非常艰难的。

美国梦—那些激励人们移民美国的主要动力就是想挣脱出生地带给他们的限制。那些在耶稣里寻求信仰的人更是如此。他们渴望能摆脱政府和文化的干扰，界定自己的身份是耶稣的跟随者和敬拜者。人们来美国就是希望自己成为在他们国家不能成为的那种人。他们希望得到受教育的机会，做生意或追求梦想。要想如此，人们必须重新界定自己。像是什么呢？

            我一生的大多数时间不断听到人们从我所谓的“外在条件”在谈论自己。教育水平啦，好看的外表啦，财富啦，名片上的职务啦等等。我也针对这方面讲过许多篇道。我也跟你们反复讲过那些耳熟能详的事，比如，这些外在事物不能长久等。

            你们还记得我讲过的名片的例子吗？我的名片上写着，“Greg Waybright博士，Lake Ave 教会主任牧师。” 在一间好教会这个职位很好。我是一名牧师。但是，这就是我的本质身份了吗？有一天，我将不再是这间教会的主任牧师了，那时，我又是谁了呢？

            如果外在的条件和暂时的事物决定你的身份，当这些东西不在了时，你会感到空虚，也不知道自己是谁了。

自我发现—几十年前，我开始注意到人们用不同的方式谈论自我的身份。有些人看到以外在条件诸如财富或成就界定自我身份的虚妄。我开始注意到人们在谈及他们追求成为某种人时会提到他们的感动。在教会中，人们越来越少地会提及， “耶稣呼召我去哪儿我就去哪儿，要我做什么我就做什么，” 取而代之的是，他们会说， “我有这些感动。上帝给我这些感动，要我成为我本应该成为的样子。”

            我把这种自我定位的方式称作“自我发现”， 因为它相信每个人里面都有一个本应该成为的样子。如果真是这样的话，通向美好人生的唯一道路就是发现内在的自我并成为那个样子就好了。否则，你就是没有活出真我。信主的人说神给我那些感动和恩赐，我要发现并使用它们。非信徒说，“我里面有条路”—是由我的基因决定的。我要发现那个内在的真我并活出真我，不然我的人生就会很惨。“

            关于这一点辩论最多的就是关于人的性行为。许多人的基本看法是：“我是某种特定的人，我必须发现我到底是谁。社会告诉我不能成为我本该成为的样子。我必须要弄明白内在的自我是怎样的，然后要大胆地庆祝—活出真我的样子—否则我就不是我了。

            在这个世界，由内在感觉界定自我身份的方式似乎好多了。然而，真是这样吗？这是个既大又复杂的话题。我只想说人的感觉会互相冲突的。比如，你可能会说，“我有个感动要做好父母，还有个感动要做成功人士。”或者，“我有感动要做个好丈夫，又对那个新来的女同事有感觉。” 或者，“我很想吃油腻的食物但又想苗条。” 这些都是互相冲突的感觉。如果你的身份是建立在感动感觉上的，你也一定会有分裂的感觉。人的感觉来来去去—也经常会被误导。我们是知道这点的。人类需要的是统一唯一的且身份—统一且唯一的感动—来引导我们的整个人生。

诗篇8篇对此说得再清楚不过了。

                        诗篇8篇：我是谁？我是上帝的孩子，受造要荣耀父

            我们可以花几个小时逐节研究这篇论到上帝的尊贵荣耀的伟大篇章。然而，我今天却想带大家了解这篇诗的主题，还有它对于人类渴望知道的有关自己是谁以及我们为什么在这个世界的问题是如何论述的。

            我要带大家一起看看这篇诗。本诗谈到两个主题：

主题一：神— 是的，我们的神—是荣耀的神。主，我们的主，你的名在全地何其美（8：1，9）！

            在这几节经文中出现了2个不同的希伯来语中的上帝的名字： 1）Adonai—治理全地万有的上帝的名字。2）Yahweh—那位认识，关心并爱他的百姓的，个人的上帝的名字。这是多么奇妙的描写啊，不是吗？这位认识我们并爱我们的上帝（Yahweh）也同时是大能而尊贵的治理”全地”的上帝（Adonai）。接着，大卫告诉我们这位主是何等尊贵。

            为了说明这点，大卫带我们回到创世记1章和上帝的创造中。注意他是怎么说的。在1节下，他说，主，我们的主，不只在全地上，而且在全地之上是尊贵的。“你将你的荣耀彰显于天。” 他这样说是要强调上帝先于地球存在—他的荣耀是先于并高于—在地在天的万有的存在。其结果在第3节我们看见，通过美国国家航空航天局（JPL/NASA）的望远镜观测到的天空中的一切—我们所知道的一切被造物都是上帝将它们安放在那里的，就是我们的上帝（3节）。

主题二：上帝造我们要反映他的荣耀：人类是什么。。。（8：4）？

            我不想你们忽略诗篇8篇的一个主要问题：上帝说人是什么？他说我们的生命有意义吗？大卫看到神所造的万有感到自己就像其中的一粒灰尘般渺小。正如科学家们通过望远镜和显微镜所观察到的，他在第3节说，“我观看你指头所造的天，并你所陈设的月亮星宿。我再看看自己。主啊，我是什么？你竟顾念我？你竟眷顾我？”

            上帝在第5节回答他，是这样说的：“我认识你并且顾念你。不仅如此，我造你是要你向全世界彰显我的荣耀。我造你成为一切被造物的的轴心，仅仅在我以下。” 这就是第5节所说的意思。我们的圣经将这节经文译为，“你叫我们比天使微小一点。” 但是诗人在这里使用的是“ Elohim,” 描述上帝是创造者时使用的名字。从上下文看，我相信他首先应该指创造的事实，就像创1：27所说，“神 就 照 著 自 己 的 形 像 造 人 ， 乃 是 照 著 他 的 形 像 造 男 造 女 。” 意思就是说，人类不是上帝。我们不是永恒的。我们本是上帝的创造物之一。然而， 不像其他的被造物，我们有上帝的形象。我们的核心身份，从这篇诗篇看来，就是要在这个世界上反映上帝的形象—他的荣耀。

诗篇接下来的部分都是在详细说明这一点。上帝将万有交给人管理。上帝所造的万物都仰赖我们照看如同仰赖上帝的照看。注意到第6节了吗？“你派人管理你手所造的。你叫万有都服在他的脚下。” 就是说，正如上帝顾念眷顾我们，我们也要顾念眷顾他所造的万有。对这个世界来说我们就是上帝的形象。这就是我们该有的身份，就是你我应该成为的样子。

这不意味着我们每个人就没有第二身份了—事实上我们都有。我是牧师。我是网球迷。我是丈夫和父亲。然而，我的主要身份是上帝的孩子，受造要荣耀我的父。其他的身份都要顺服在上帝以下。没有什么可以取代他的位置。

但是，这个道理如何实践呢？对你来说成为上帝的孩子每天在生活中荣耀他意味着什么呢？那至少意味着两件事：

#1：上帝的道路和性情引导你的生活—这一点在本篇诗中只是暗指，在通篇圣经中却清楚论及。与世界对你的核心身份的定义相比，圣经指出你的人生只应有一个愿望，就是讨上帝喜悦。

            当你照着上帝造你的目的而活时，你首先的问题不应是，“我的世界期待我成为什么样？”也不该是，“我的感动是什么？”一个认识自己被造要为荣耀上帝的人的首要问题应该是，“父啊，你要我成为什么样？”接下来的问题会是，“你要我怎样生活？”

            我发现这样的生活实在是自由释放。当你跟随耶稣，你就不再成为因害怕而讨好你周遭世界中各种人的奴隶。你只需讨好一位，就是你的创造者。

            并且，同样重要的是，你也不必再做你感觉的奴仆而活。你的感觉互相矛盾不断变化。就像以弗所书2：3所说的那样，“我们从前也都在他们中间，放纵肉体的私欲，随着肉体和心中所喜好的去行。”耶稣来就是要叫我们从这样的生活方式中得释放。

            我还要补充一点，当你照着唯一的终极身份只为荣耀上帝而活时，你周围的人也都得福。你会对他们更好。我为什么会如此说呢？--因为上帝给我们的第二大命令就是要爱人如己。你会在每个人身上看到上帝的形象—包括你的配偶，家庭，陌生人。。。每个人—你会带着这样的思想过每天的生活：

• 我要荣耀尊贵的主，就不能恶待或轻视老人。
• 我要荣耀尊贵的主，就不能轻视未出生的孩子。
• 我要荣耀尊贵的主，就不能无视全国有色人种因年轻人被杀而发出的痛苦和不公的呼声
• 我要荣耀尊贵的主，就不能闭眼不看那些执法人员被视为天生邪恶，在职期间被杀的事实。
• 我要荣耀尊贵的主，就不能不理会我身边哭泣的人而走开。

下次如果有人问你，“你为什么要管无家可归的家庭—或辅导那些在学业上挣扎却得不到家庭帮助的学生们（如果你真的做这些事的话）？”你试试这样回答他们，“没有什么不方便的借口能让我不顾念上帝如此高贵的创造。”然后给他们读诗篇8篇，让他们看上帝的眼光以及人本来该有的样子—就像我今天在这里所做的。这也许会提升他们的思想境界。

     还有—如果你的身份是荣耀上帝的人，你不只会善待周边的人，你也会善待上帝的一切造物。为什这样说呢？

#2：你会顾念眷顾一切的被造物—因为它们是你父的世界。

            上帝创造我们时说，“我告诉你你是谁。你被造是”管理我手所造的。“圣经宣告我们作为上帝的管家的神圣呼召是有原因的，美国的教会却并不经常听到这一点。我敢肯定原因在于这个话题可能会引来究竟该如何实现这个呼召的政治辩论。但我们要清楚一点：我们作为耶稣的跟随者就要受上帝和他的话语的引导—而不是惧怕他人会怎么想。上帝告诉我们要看顾他的造物。

            在准备这篇讲章时，我决定放弃我们文化中的政治观而选择读非洲圣经注释中有关眷顾造物这方面的读物。其中一位肯尼亚的作者George Kinoti写到，上帝在肯尼亚的百姓注意到他们的森林正在大面积流失，水污染，鱼类减少和天气迅速变化等问题。他呼吁教会继续做上帝造物的好管家来荣耀上帝。我也同样呼吁：荣耀上帝就是要反映出上帝对我们这个世界的心意。当我们看上帝创造世界的时候我们看到了什么呢？上帝造完万物之后，看一切甚好。他呼召我们要恢复这个世界的美好像我们天父世界的样子。

     明年我们学习创世记1章时我会再提到这个话题。现在，我要大家知道，除非你每天将自己降服在基督的主权之下，你无法发现你应该成为什么样子—也就是说，我们要看顾保守交付给我们的一切被造物以及那些每天与我们摩肩接踵的同样有着上帝形象的人们。

            你是谁？你在讲道开始前写下的答案是怎样的？现请在拿出那张纸来。你写下的答案是什么呢？“我是谁？“有没有什么试探让你觉得比荣耀上帝更重要的？有什么事拦阻你去做上帝要你做的？请现在写下来。我邀请你再次奉献自己，真正将上帝当作你的上帝。请大家一起来唱这首诗歌，”我不再做惧怕的奴隶，我是上帝的儿女。“

荣耀归给神，

Greg Waybright 博士

主任牧师